Sophomore Georgette Cartagena may be one of the kindest and sweetest souls I have ever met. She strives to give back to her community, and in the midst of it discovered her passion. Her ability to empathize with others is a sign of genuine strength, and I wanted her to be recognized for all of her achievements involving Leaders Empowering Others in Need of Education and Service, or LEONES for short.
Cartagena first discovered the LEONES chapter at FSU last year. She says, “I was going crazy last year (my freshman year) looking for ways to get involved and I saw their informational meeting advertised on Facebook. I dragged my friend with me; she wasn’t thrilled, but I was in love. I had finally found my niche.” I’m sure they were glad they found her too.
I asked Cartagena to tell me a little bit more about LEONES, because its name is kind of intimidating. “It’s an awesome community service organization that focuses on providing mentoring and tutoring services to local underprivileged youth,” she says. “What sets us apart from other tutoring organizations is that we cater to ELL students (English language learners- they don’t know English) too.”
It takes true patience and understanding to be able to work with younger children, especially when they are struggling in learning a new language. But don’t be fooled by this ambitious girl. She’s been working with youngsters for quite a while back in her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida. “In high school, I would go to volunteer to work with my mom with kids. I absolutely fell in love with kids,” she admits. “By helping out those in need back home, I realized that’s what I wanted to do with my life. So when I came to college, I was on a mission to join an organization that exemplified that; I just so happened to find LEONES, where I could help young students who didn’t speak the language.” That’s when Cartagena knew her criminology major wasn’t enough—she now wants to double major in social work.
Still, I wanted to know more about the experiences Cartagena holds close to her heart, so I asked her to describe a memorable time with one of her mentees. She says, “The last time I was at my 4th grader’s house, it truly hit me what she’s facing. I had asked her why she didn’t turn in any homework last week or the incomplete work from the week before that. She turned to me and said that no one at home ever helps her with homework. As I left, my mentoring partner told me that her kindergartener got help from her mother (who is also my 4th grader’s step mom). I never knew how split her household was. Not to sound conceited or boastful because this is sad, but I am the only person who helps her with schoolwork outside of school.” One can only imagine how difficult it is for a child to succeed in school without any help at home. Sometimes we don’t realize how lucky we are to be able to receive a higher education, and I’m sure some of us couldn’t have made it to college without someone’s help along the way. It’s evident that Cartagena’s mentoring will help these kids go confidently into their educational careers.
Although we are just college students trying to get degrees and have a great time while doing it, there’s no reason as to why we can’t help out our community while we’re here. Cartagena says, “It’s always important to find a way that helps us give back to our community because we are where we are now due to opportunities shown, aided, given to us because of another.” She goes on to say, “I never would have attempted trying out for the volleyball team in high school if it weren’t for my mother encouraging me. I would not have applied for the George Snow Scholarship had it not been for the director of Boca Jets telling me that since I volunteer so much, I had a good chance of being awarded it.” Cartagena is living proof that giving back means getting so much more in return.
As if she wasn’t already busy enough, Cartagena is also part of the Committee Board for the Hispanic Latino Student Union. “For HLSU, I am the program coordinator for the Pantoja Scholars Program which brings Hispanic/Latino high school students to Florida State’s campus for workshops on applying, attending, and surviving college. This year the program also added the use of mentoring for those students as well,” she says.
In her free time, Cartagena loves to watch The Originals, The Vampire Diaries, and Reign. She also read ton of fanfiction and is quite the amazing singer (I can attest to that!). Although she doesn’t live by any specific sayings or mottos, she retweets a ton of inspirational quotes. She said her most recent one was, “Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have time to do something about it” by Anthony D’Angelo.
If you are interested in joining LEONES, they are always welcoming new members. Simply e-mail membership.leones@gmail.com, or join their studentgroups.fsu.edu page on Nole Central. Follow their twitter (@FSULEONES) where they put up upcoming events.