Students praise librarian and Latinos in Action advisor for boosting cultural confidence

Students and a teacher at a school in the Davis County School District described the teacher’s work as a librarian and as the adviser for the Latinos in Action program, saying it has boosted students’ confidence and cultural awareness.

The teacher, identified in the meeting transcript as Speaker 1, said he sees himself “more as just an advisor than a teacher” and described moving from roles teaching Spanish and technology to serving as the school librarian about six years ago. “I think of myself more as just an advisor than a teacher. I'm just there to advise. I'm just there to, you know, make sure the library doesn't burn down, but that they know it's theirs,” the teacher said.

Students credited the same staff member with creating a student center, leading Latinos in Action and organizing an annual culture night that asks students to research and present their heritage. One student said the advisor “got me out of my comfort zone” and gave opportunities to perform in front of large crowds: “I am Samoan, so it was really nice to spread my culture and my heritage with other people.” Another student said the class was like “a leadership class, sort of like a student body officer class with an emphasis on everybody's culture and heritage.”

Students also praised the adviser’s patience and emphasis on helping them become “more social and presentable.” One student said the adviser “wants a better future for us, so, like, he's very understanding.” Another described the program as creating a new network of friends: “Never really ever talked to anybody but becoming an ally brought me with this, like, new family of people.”

The transcript shows these comments were personal reflections by the teacher and students; no formal actions, votes or policy decisions were recorded in the provided excerpt.