Here's how two local high schoolers made a big difference for LAUP this summer

HOLLAND — Two students from Holland High School were chosen to participate in a national internship program focused on young leaders this summer.

Alejandro Fleites Marcelo and Karinna Martinez each participated in the Bank of America Student Leaders Program, an eight-week summer internship connecting students to employment, skills development and services nationwide. Fleites Marcelo and Martinez were selected to represent the Grand Rapids area.

Fleites Marcelo is a recent graduate of Holland High and will be a freshman at Grand Rapids Community College this fall. He's participated in leadership training programs with the National Youth Leadership Forum and National Student Leadership Council.

Martinez is a current student at Holland High. She’s an officer of the National Honor Society, has volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club, Women of Color Give and LAUP, and participated in leadership training with the Girls Leadership Academy for Services and Sport and the Youth Grantmakers Summer Leadership Conference.

As part of the program, Fleites Marcelo and Martinez worked with Latin Americans United for Progress, particularly during LAUP Fiesta Week, including participating in a panel discussion following a screening of Cynthia Martinez's “First Voice Generation,” a film that follows three Latinx high schoolers in Holland.

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"(They) have significantly expanded our capacity as a nonprofit, providing invaluable support to our mission and the work we do with unique perspectives on the lives of young Latinos in our community, contributing to the transformative work and programs we develop and deliver daily,” LAUP CEO Johnny Rodriguez wrote in a release.

“Through their time with us, we exposed them to the operations of a nonprofit at all levels, investing in the development of young leaders and the future of our community.”

In addition to working with LAUP, the students traveled to Washington, D.C. for a week-long national leadership summit.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com .

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Here's how two local high schoolers made a big difference for LAUP this summer