Flor Jazmin Chavez, a student at J.E.B. Stuart High School, participated in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s Ready 2 Lead (R2L) NextGen Program last week. R2L is a week-long leadership program that brings students from across the country to D.C. to learn more about the legislative process and connect with Hispanic leaders and role models.

Chavez was one of 40 low-income high school students from the across the nation to meet in Washington, D.C. to learn how the federal government works, meet important leaders, visit historic sites and develop an understanding of how they can affect change in their communities.

In partnership with the congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), the Close Up Foundation, a civic education non-profit, and State Farm are founding sponsors the R2L NextGen Program, which is an extension of CHCI’s one day Ready to Lead (R2L) college readiness program that is held in cities throughout the country.

The program combined the Close Up Foundation’s civic education program and CHCI’s leadership curriculum for Latino youth to expand CHCI’s outreach to Latino high school students and increase its impact in the college readiness and leadership
development arenas.