How WLP Has Changed Me

Leticia at work facilitating Wash Prep's Day of Dialogue

By Leticia Patton, Grade 11

To me, WLP means addressing vital issues that plague our community and our school. The group stands for something that our youth need today. The most enlightening experience for me would have to be the Days of Dialogue because they allow students to voice what really goes on so that we can help change the school for the better. I have learned some of the harsh realities of my school campus so now I am not blind to the actions of the teachers, students, and staff on campus. I plan to use the skills and lessons I have learned in my professional and social life. I plan to become an OB/GYN and a strong figure in my community so this has been great preparation to jumpstart the future. The group has caused me to have more respect for myself, women of color, and women in general because I have decided not to use derogatory language to downgrade my peers.

Leticia Patton was one of the top ranked 11th graders at Washington Prep HS and was recently nominated by WLP for a Posse Foundation scholarship.

Jamion at the Black College Expo

By Jamion Allen, Grade 12

WLP has meant so much to me; it has meant uplifting myself and others. WLP has helped me share my knowledge old and new with people of many different backgrounds and personalities. For this I will always and forever be thankful and honored to have been a part of this great organization. 

My Best Experience……… I’ve had so many great experiences being part of WLP but I have to say the most enlightening was just recently at WLP’s annual youth conference. We were having a discussion on various topics and the topic of LGBTQ marriage arose. A person  that had some very different views than I did was expressing her opinion in what I felt was a somewhat disrespectful manner. Though I was getting angry, through my training with WLP I was able to defuse the the situation, but it was a tough one.

I hope to take everything I’ve learned and taught with me through college and in my adult life . I know that with these lessons and skills I can go far because the sky is the limit. 

Jamion Allen will be attending El Camino College in the fall after she graduates from Washington Prep HS.  She was recently the recipient of a Los Angeles County Volunteer of the Year award.