The GEAR UP Mosaic Grant has provided Wenatchee High School GEAR UP students with the opportunity to attend the 2016 LEAP (Latino/a Educational Advancement Project) Education Conference and Legislative Day held in Tacoma and Olympia on Feb. 4-5.

The high school attendees from all over the state of Washington will receive instruction on how to take advantage of academic opportunities within their communities, and how to pursue postsecondary success. More than 400 students are expected to attend, according to the LEAP website.

“It’s about empowering Latino youth,” GEAR UP Coordinator Felix Guerra said. “They’re teaching students of Latino descent how to be a force within their community and how to make change on a legislative level.”

On the first day of the conference the students will learn about different “channels” to success by attending workshops at Hotel Murano in downtown Tacoma, according to the LEAP website.

The next day, they will be able to apply their newly-learned lessons on a trip to the state capitol where they will meet with legislators, according to Guerra.

“We are hoping to make the students aware of their potential. [WHS GEAR UP’s] job is to empower every sophomore into thinking and believing that they can pursue something after high school. That’s our number one goal,” Guerra said.