Andrea Caldwell used a key chain flashlight as incentive for students to voice their opinions regarding what they felt was necessary to shed a better light on parts of Bakersfield that they felt were neglected.

Caldwell presented a workshop in Forum East on the Project Reach Mentor Program.

“It’s always important to stimulate your mind and to get some intellectual food for the soul,” Caldwell said “We try to focus on the subjects that benefit you. The reason we are here is to talk about community.”

High school students from all over the Kern High School District gathered at Bakersfield College to take part the 15th Annual Central Valley Youth Leadership Conference Feb. 22.

The event consisted of a variety of workshops, seminars, entertainment and the chance for the students to tour a college campus.

Dr. Wilhelmina Anthony, director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, said this year’s conference had a particular focus on civic leadership.

“We have begun to identify young people who are really ready to move ahead on this,” she said. “We really want them to start by looking at the past and what the contributions have been in the past, things that have gone on before them that have contributed to things that are accessible to them today. But then identify what changes they want instead of us telling them.”