Youth Summit empowers student positivity

About 250 middle school students gathered on Thursday at the Socorro Convention Center for the fourth annual Youth Summit hosted by SCOPE Health Council, transforming a school day into an uplifting event focused on mental health, empowerment, and connection.

This year’s summit welcomed sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from Alamo, Cottonwood Valley Charter School, and Sarracino Middle School. While the event usually caters to seventh and eighth grade students, organizers expanded the invitation this year after a scheduling conflict prevented Magdalena students from attending.

“We had about the same number of students as last year, even with the shift,” said Bernadette Lopez, Youth Outreach Coordinator at SCOPE Health Council and lead organizer of the summit. “My takeaway as coordinator of the event was that students were very much involved and engaged throughout the whole day, which was really cool. We saw some students that are typically more introverted, but they still participated in the event.”

The theme for this year’s summit was “Mind Shift”, focusing on building a more positive mindset and fostering self-belief and encouragement among students. Activities were designed to be immersive and fun, emphasizing that education around mental health and wellness.

A highlight of the day was keynote speaker Dr. Julia Garcia, a renowned youth advocate from Arizona, who delivered an impassioned talk on self-worth and the importance of accepting oneself and others.

“She really talked about self worth and teaching the kids that they’re all worthy of acceptance from others. They are worthy of acceptance from themselves. It was a really impactful speech,” said Lopez.

The summit featured a full day of interactive sessions, games, and student-teacher competitions — including a lively tug-of-war battle. In keeping with the event’s mental health focus, teachers were honored with free coffee vouchers from Red Wagon Coffee as a token of appreciation for their dedication and hard work throughout the school year.

“We wanted to recognize all their hard work for a great school year,” Lopez said. “And of course, we acknowledge that being a teacher is probably one of the most stressful jobs you could ever have. So that tied in with a theme of mental health. We wanted to take care of our teachers as well.”

The event also included a resource fair during lunch, featuring more than 20 organizations, including Socorro Mental Health, the 988 Crisis Line, New Mexico Tech’s Geology Department, and the Socorro High School Drama Club.