LOS ALTOS TOWN CRIER -- Vargas, a product of the local school system, was the keynote speaker for the 32nd annual Champions for Youth Breakfast. The annual breakfast, held May 1 at Michaels at Shoreline restaurant, is a fundraiser for the Mountain View-Los Altos Challenge Team, a consortium of local law enforcement, schools and city leaders dedicated to helping youth.
Vargas, a 2000 Mountain View High School graduate, offered gratitude to his alma mater, as well as local school leaders who recognized the teen’s talent and supported him in his quest to attend San Francisco State University.
“Every policy proposal (says) immigrants should earn our citizenship,” he said. “Home is actually not something I should have to earn. My humanity is not a box I have to check. I would argue that home is the people we surround ourselves with. We have to look at our local communities, our cities … to determine who belongs. Ever since I was a kid, (Mountain View) was a place that is always welcoming and makes me feel like I belong.”