BAKERSFIELD. CALIF, (KERO) — Students from across the Central Valley came together at Cal State University Bakersfield for a conference focused on resilience, motivation, and the power of higher education.
- Students that joined came from Lemoore College, College of the Sequoias, Bakersfield College, Cal State University Bakersfield, and Porterville College.
- Founder Dr. Jonathan Hernandez highlighted the goal of uplifting students and representing Central California. “If you can rise to it you can rise through it”
- All American actor and producer Kareem Grimes shared personal stories to inspire students.
Students from across the Central Valley gathered at Cal State University Bakersfield for the second annual “The Marathon Continues” vol. 2 conference centered on resilience, motivation, and opportunity. Here’s how they’re rising to it to rise through it.
Keynote speaker Kareem Grimes, an actor and producer best known for his role on All American, shared personal stories to inspire students navigating the challenges of higher education.
“life experiences help and they can definitely be a testimony to your life,” says Kareem Grimes.
Hosted by RISE 2 It Productions, the event aimed to empower the next generation. It brought together students from Lemoore College, College of the Sequoias, Bakersfield College, and Porterville College including students like Esperanza Chavez Tapia.
“It’s also nice to hear people’s experiences, especially like most people here are from The Valley and they have similar experiences as me,” says Esperanza.
For others, like Kallie Cordov, the experience was a powerful reminder of why taking advantage of opportunities like these matters.
“Any opportunities like these I just love to come to because it’s a mistake not to, you want to take any chance you can at education, this is definitely one of those times,” says Kallie.
In addition to motivational speakers, students explored a resource fair that offered tools, connections, and guidance for achieving academic success.
Dr. Jonathan Hernandez, founder of RISE 2 It Productions and a communications professor, says the event is about uplifting students and honoring the strength and potential of Central California.
“we like to share the world with Central California, we’d like to introduce the world to Central California, we’re proud to be where we are from and we want to keep that going, so I feel like this is just the beginning, as always if you can rise to it you can rise through it,” says Dr. Jonathan Hernandez.
RISE 2 It Productions will visit Jim Maples Academy in Porterville on April 30th to help students gear up for state testing.
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