Dolores Huerta speaks to students during National Trio Day at Oxnard College

OXNARD, Calif. (KEYT) Labor leader Dolores Huerta, 95, spoke to students during a special event in Oxnard on Saturday.

Huerta talked about her late colleague Cesar Chavez, who spent some of his childhood in Oxnard.

She said he learned how to organize from people who came in during the Dust Bowl.

She gave the keynote address on the 40th anniversary National Trio Day.

Trio was created by Congress in the 1980s to put the spotlight on programs created to help students.

Locally Trio helps first generation college bound students.

Organizers from Oxnard College and Cal Lutheran University invited junior high and high school students to attend and learn about Trio Upward Bound programs.

They listened to Huerta and Ventura County Supervisor Vianey Lopez during a Q and A discussion on the Oxnard College Performing Arts stage.

Earlier in the day, Ventura County Community College District Trustee Gabriela Torres shared her story.

Torres told the teens she graduated UC Berkeley.

"First generation and low income is not a barrier to success, but on the contrary it is an asset," said Torres.

Janely Caballero of Hueneme High said she wants to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

"The Trio program to me is a way of success to my college career," said Caballero,
I have a first gen brother who graduated from Chico, he got his Masters degree."

She intends to keep the path going in her family.

Oxnard College staff member Luis Garcia said everyone was excited to meet Dolores Huerta. 

"National Trio Day is really important for us, especially here in Ventura County and Oxnard College just because this is the 40th anniversary, so it is the National 40th anniversary of the Trio programs, here at Oxnard College we have two program that have been around since about 2017" said Garcia, " We are here to serve first generation low income high school students as well as Oxnard college students, and so being able to have Dolores Huerta come and speak to this community is extremely important, especially a community that has a lot of migrant farm workers."

State Assemblymember Steve Bennett and other elected leaders also took part.

For more information about Trio Upward Bound programs visit https://www.oxnardcollege.edu and https://www.callutheran.edu