Rotary program seeks to inspire students to succeed

special to view State Sen. Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, speaks with a Ronzone Elementary School student on July 6.

A doctor. A police officer. A professional skater. A teacher.

Some children have ambitious dreams. The Rotary Club of Las Vegas Northwest has partnered with two at-risk elementary schools -- Booker and Ronzone -- to show fifth-grade students those dreams can come true.

The after-school program that the Rotary supports is called Kideract, a combination of the words "kids" and "interact." Every couple of weeks, the Rotary sets up a new speaker for the Kideract students.

A recent speaker was state Sen. Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, who met with nine Ronzone students on July 6.

He also is chief executive officer and president of the board of trustees for Nevada Partners, a nonprofit organization that gives job training to roughly 3,000 people a year.

Horsford explained how his early life was not so rosy. He was brought up by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet.

"And when I was 19, my father was shot in an incident involving drugs," he told the students. "Life happens."

Then he told of going on to college, earning a degree in political science and running for office to serve his community.

The students had their own ideas for the senator, like enacting laws to forbid smoking in casinos, making schools safer and protecting the environment.

Krista Moore, 12, said she had never heard of Horsford before, but if she saw him on the street, she would think he was a lawyer.

"The coolest part was when he showed us the picture of all the people in the state senate," she said.

"I think what happened with his dad made him stronger," said Karina Salas, 11.

All the speakers stress how important school is.

"He hasn't stopped his goals," said Joe Germain, president of the Northwest Rotary. "He plans to go back to school to become a lawyer to better represent us."

Earlier in the year, the Rotary brought in a jeweler, a chef, and city Councilman Larry Brown as speakers for the Kideract program.

"The best one was the computer guy. He showed us how to make a Web page," said Braylene Alsup, 11.