To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, students at Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy participated in an inspiring virtual conversation with award-winning broadcast journalist Olga Campos Benz. As one of the first Latinas on a major news network, Campos Benz spent more than 30 years covering the biggest news stories in Texas. She worked for KVUE news, Austin’s ABC affiliate before retiring in 2011. She continues to use her platform as a community advocate, and in 2017 published her first novel, It’s News to Me.

Consistent with the 2020 theme for Hispanic Heritage Month, Be Proud of Your Past, Embrace the Future, Campos Benz recalled how she was not always accepted by her peers as a newscaster. “I had to work three times as hard, because I was a woman, because I was a Latina, and because I was a working mom at the time, so sometimes we all have to suck it up and do our best and prove others who don’t believe in us, prove them wrong,” she said. Campos Benz encouraged Sadler Means young leaders to “just keep going, just keep focused” when they encounter obstacles in life.

In addition to the Campos Benz talk, all Sadler Means students are invited to participate in a writing competition to research a Latina who has contributed to the history of this country in service. 

Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy promotes scholarship, leadership, and community service to help ensure students succeed in high school, college, career, and life.