In Indiana, Latino youth fare the worst in terms of depression and suicide. Your Life.Your Story: Latino Youth Summit (YLYS) is an intervention program to increase resilience, self-identity and self-mastery in Latino adolescents, with the aim of reducing and/or preventing depressive symptoms.
Your Life. Your Story. Latino Youth Summit
Description of the video:
Description of the following video:
[Music begins.]
[Video: Students walk in a group in a school hallway, wearing various color shirts that say “your life. Your story.”]
[Woman speaks during voiceover: This camp came out of some research we had done…]
[Video: Woman in glasses, standing in front of a window is speaking. Text appears onscreen: Silvia Bigatti, Principal Investigator – Academic Professor, Fairbanks School of Public Health]
[Silvia: … which suggested we needed to focus on distress.]
[Video: Woman in black shirt and glasses, standing in a classroom begins speaking. Text appears onscreen: Katrina Conrad, YLYS Project Director, Fairbanks School of Public Health]
[Katrina: I really just like this experience because these kids are really awesome.]
[Video: While Katrina speaks, two young boys and a young girl, possibly of Latino descent, are shown talking, smiling and laughing.]
[Katrina: And so why wouldn’t we try to increase their resiliency to give them a better future?]
[Woman begins speaking who then appears onscreen. She is wearing an orange YLYS tee shirt and standing in an academic setting. Words appear onscreen: Monica Medina, Academic Partner, IUPUI School of Education]
[Monica: And in many cases, the young people are not given the opportunity to express themselves.]
[Video: Child is shown drawing in a class with other students.]
[Monica: This camp provides that opportunity.]
[Katrina: Each day is centered around a different theme.]
[Video: Katrina is shown talking.]
[Katrina: So our whole purpose of this camp is to learn how to tell your story.]
[Video: Woman with patterned shirt, who is standing outside in front of a brick wall, begins speaking. Words appear onscreen: Sarah Herbert, Academic Partner, Herron School of Art and Design]
[Sarah: We realize that stories actually help us identify who we are.]
[Video: Youth in YLYS shirts sit together on the grass and talk.]
[Sarah: They help us realize where fit not only in our own story but in the stories of others as well. So that’s where the name “your life, your story” came from.]
[Video: Sarah is shown talking briefly. Footage of kids are then shown and the camera zooms in on the shirt. A large group of Latino youth laugh, talk and walk together across the street. Music plays. Teens are also shown taking a group exercise class with an instructor, and then younger kids are shown drawing together in a class. Video returns to Monica speaking.]
[Monica: Your life, Your story… which is so important. And for me, it’s a learning experience that I would never get in a text book or read in a research paper.]
[Video: Latino teens doo crafts at a table together and are shown conversing with each other and with an instructor. Latino man starts speaking with Spanish accent.]
[Man: I think it is very important our community have a good idea about the United States is not only for work.]
[Video: The man speaking is shown. He is wearing an orange YLYS shirt and standing outside beside a brick building. Words appear onscreen: Roberto Marquez, Community Partner, Saint Philip Neri]
[Roberto: I think. It’s good to have another kind of opportunities for continued study.]
[Video: Young Latino boy is shown working on a computer. He is using a drawing pad to create digital art. A girl is then shown outside on a volley ball court, wearing a Vincennes University shirt. She is playing volley ball with other kids her age. Camera returns to Monica talking.]
[Monica: Being in this venue, I think it is very important for all kids for all kids! And for that matter, adults, who simply forget how to listen to kids.]
[Video: Young Latino man is shown having a group discussion. He is shown talking and then painting with younger Latino kids. Words appear onscreen: Andree Entezari, YLYS student mentor]
[Andree: I’m here because I want to myself grow as a mentor and as a student to help others and to continue to learn.]
[Video: Latino man is shown talking to and interacting with kids outside. He is then shown in a school hallway, talking to camera. The kids are then shown playing basketball and other sports. Words appear onscreen: Paco Espinosa, Community Partner, Indiana Soccer]
[Paco: A lot of times they come from places where they don’t have these opportunities. For them to have exposure to these emotional activities, you know, music, arts, sports, it’s going to give them the opportunity to just explore what interests them and then just get deep into it so they can be successful.]
[Video: A group of Latina teens sit on a bench outside, chatting. Then a boy is shown smiling and engaging with others in a computer lab. A woman begins speaking via voiceover.]
[Woman: And they look happy and they like it…]
[Words appear onscreen: Virna Diaz, Principal Investigator – Community Partner, Latino Health Organization. She is standing in a classroom setting.]
[Virna: Because I ask questions to them and then they love it.]
[Video: Latino youth of all ages are shown in different settings, laughing, raining their hands in classes, talking with each other, and enjoying themselves. Silvia is then shown talking.]
[Silvia: We’re seeing the kids change. I mean kids that wouldn’t look at us are looking at us. Kids who wouldn’t talk to us are talking. They’re interacting, they’re excited. They’re really into this.]
[Video: YLYS youth pose for a fun picture. Teen girl appears onscreen. She is wearing a green YLYS shirt under a hoodie, and is standing in a hallway. Words appear onscreen: Andrea, 17, YLYS Program Participant]
[Andrea: I’ve let myself go. I’ve expressed myself. I’ve been able to meet new people. It’s really cool. ]
[Teen boy appears onscreen. He is wearing a green YLYS shirt and is standing in a hallway. Words appear onscreen: Alexander, 15, YLYS Program Participant]
[Alexander: My favorite part has been almost everything.]
[Different teen girl appears. Words onscreen: Vianey, 14, YLYS Program Participant]
[Vianey: I think I’m learning how to be a better person and how to deal with stress, and how to be friendlier.]
[Teen boy appears onscreen. He is wearing a green YLYS shirt and is standing in front of a window. Words appear onscreen: Javier, 14, YLYS Program Participant]
[Javier: I will miss the being with people, like friends, like a lot. Like how much fun it was.]
[Teen boy appears onscreen. He is wearing a green YLYS shirt and is standing in a school hallway. Words appear onscreen: Jesus, 15, YLYS Program Participant]
[Jesus: The biggest thing I’m going to miss when this is over is interacting with the mentors.]
[Older male mentor is shown talking with kids.]
[Andrea speaks and then appears: My favorite part at camp would probably be the storytelling class. You can express yourself in just telling a little story. It’s very cool.]
[Girl is shown talking with youth outside. She then appears talking. Words appear onscreen: Michelle Ramirez, IUPUI student mentor]
[Michelle: So I feel like this is awesome for kids to learn how to think like this and how to put themselves in other people’s shoes and I just think it’s important that kids learn how to do that.]
[Video: The art class is shown again as a mentor hangs student art. Voiceover of Silvia begins and then she is shown speaking.]
[Silvia: The goal of the camp is for these kids to have a really good sense of who they are and what they can do and how they can communicate that to everybody that’s important to them. And that’s going to impact their future.]
[Students in various group settings interact together. They are smiling, laughing, and engaging. Katrina begins speaking off camera and then on.]
[Katrina: We want them to be able to love the fact that they can share American culture with let’s say Mexican or Honduran culture, Peruvian culture. We want them to know that it’s okay to be who you are and you should be excited about that.]
[Several papers are shown up close with crayon writing that says “weird, funny, shy, ” etc. Monica begins speaking while footage of the students at camp are shown. The student self portraits are all hung up on a wall. Monica is shown speaking.]
[Monica: But the success for students may not come until they find themselves in a situation where they can use those skill sets that they are receiving in this camp. And whether its next week or next month, as an adult, they are always going to remember the experience. They may not always remember exactly what we did but the fact that they had this experience I think is what’s memorable and that, to me, is success.]
[Video: YLYS Logo on a sheet of white paper on a brown wooden desk is shown. Text says: your life. Your story. Latino Youth Summit]
[Music ends]
[end]
It's an evidence-based, interdisciplinary, arts-based community program that began in 2014 and continues to this date. It consists of a one-week summer camp where Latino youth go through a resilience-building and identity development curriculum, followed by a selection of art and movement based activities to develop goals for the future and identify barriers and opportunities. College-level mentors guide the students through the activities and help make the camp exciting and fun.
YLYS is a collaborative effort led by Silvia Bigatti, Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Virna Diaz, Director of the Latino Health Organization, a community serving non-profit, and Monica Medina, from the School of Education. Youngbok Hong, from the Herron School of Art collaborated with the team to create YLYS.
Over the years, the program has been supported by various foundation grants, as well as support from various sources within IUPUI, including the MURI, UROP and SROP program, Service Learning Assistantships, and the CTSI.

Yearly data suggest that the YLYS camp has a statistically significant impact on participants with an increase in resilience and decrease in depressive symptoms.
Partners
- Latino Health Organization
- School of Education
- Herron School of Art and Design
- IUPUI
Faculty Involved

Silvia M. Bigatti, PhD
Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Bigatti’s current research portfolio centers on health disparities. She examines the distinct psychological stress experienced by different populations and its negative physical and mental health outcomes.
Silvia Bigatti's Full Bio