MEChA members to descend on NHS

Over 150  high school students from MEChA Clubs in Oregon will gather at Newberg High School Friday, April 12, for a day long conference. The Newberg MECha Chapter have spent hours organizing the event that features workshops, a college fair and entertainment. Enrique Caizero,a reporter with KUNP Unavision Portland is the keynote speaker. The conference theme is "To know our history is to know ourselves, hence shape our future."

MEChA stands for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan. The student organization has roots starting from the Chicano/Civil Rights Movement in the late ‘60s. Today, high school MEChAs focus on getting students into post¬secondary schools. The Newberg MEChA club’s purpose is to serve the community, learn about and perform civic duties, gain leadership skills in the form of organizing events like this conference, and most importantly help each other succeed and reach our full academic potential. The chapter has logged in about 100 hours in volunteer service at cultural events and local programs, like the Newberg Public Library Annual Tree Lighting in November and their National Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration in September 2012, and at the Day of the Dead Celebration at the Cultural Center.