Students to speak at 11th annual Take Stock Leadership Prayer Breakfast

It’s hard to believe that Jailene Salazar-Ibarra was ever afraid to speak her mind.

The 18-year-old Manatee High School senior now projects confidence, excitement and joy about the future.

As a freshman, however, before she was accepted into the Take Stock in Children of Manatee County program that offers mentors and scholarships to students who have barriers to academic and career success, Salazar-Ibarra often described herself as extremely shy.

“When I first met my mentor, Tracy Szelwach, I was really timid,” Salazar-Ibarra said during a recent phone interview. “I couldn’t ask people questions. I couldn’t even think about being in a program where I would have to interact with other people, like Junior ROTC. Tracy helped with all of that.”

In the last four years since she has been a Take Stock in Children scholar, Salazar-Ibarra has overcome her fears to join Junior ROTC at Manatee High as well as enroll in the school’s medical academy. Her grades have improved to a weighted grade-point average of 3.9.

“I thought she would teach me things, but I didn’t know we would create a bond,” Salazar-Ibarra said of her relationship with Szelwach. “I can talk to her about anything. She’s become a second mom to me. I see her once a week at school and we talk or text on the phone all the time.”

Salazar-Ibarra is one of five students who will speak about their relationships with Take Stock in Children mentors during Take Stock in Children’s 11th annual Leadership Prayer Breakfast set for 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto.

Take Stock in Children guides academically at-risk students from their early high school days, through graduation from high school and then into college, said Jamie Serino, executive director of Take Stock in Children, who started at the organization in September 2017, replacing Diana Dill, the founding director.

“We are a scholarship and mentorship program that provides four-year and two-year scholarships to college or post secondary education and technical schools as well,” Serino said recently from the organization’s office at the School District of Manatee County’s Professional Support Center at 2501 63rd Ave. E., Bradenton.

“We identify the children early through an application process and they must qualify both academically and financially,” Serino said. “It’s a rigorous process and once selected they are guaranteed a four-year or two-year scholarship as long as they follow certain guidelines and meet certain metrics. Guidelines include maintaining their grade point average, having good attendance, volunteering hours in the community, staying crime and drug free and other factors. We also provide the mentors.”

Take Stock in Children of Manatee has issued 498 scholarships since 1996, Serino said.

The breakfast is a fundraiser with the goal of raising $150,000 for new scholarships, Serino added.

The five students who will speak about the program Thursday include Ishmael Rolle, Sebastian Espinal, Richecar Polinice, Davis Moeckel and Salazar-Ibarra.

“The students speaking are from different phases of the program,” Serino said. “We have students speaking who are just entering the program in middle school, a student in high school, one in college and one who graduated and found a job.”

A total of 55 percent of the students served by the program are at or below the federal poverty level, Serino added.

The keynote speaker at the event is Mike Jarvis, a former NCAA basketball coach and author of, “Everyone Needs A Head Coach.”

Once attendees hear the student stories they will understand more about the barriers they face, said Jessica Armstrong, executive assistant/office manager for Take Stock in Children of Manatee County.

“Hope is my principal emotion when I think about our program,” Armstrong added. “I think that our program really offers students who have a lot of institutional barriers to academic and career success a way into the system that might otherwise be closed to them and that makes me hopeful for all students in any circumstances.”

Take Stock in Children of Manatee County currently has 181 students in college but also students who have completed the entire cycle and are back in Manatee working for local employers, Armstrong said.

“Some really great local companies are taking our kids and giving them opportunities,” Armstrong added.

This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Students to speak at 11th annual Take Stock Leadership Prayer Breakfast."