Monday, Nov. 21, 2005 | 9:08 a.m.
"One problem teenagers face today is peer pressure to join gangs. ... Sometimes teenagers don't have anyone to model after except drug dealers and gang members, causing them to turn to violence and corruption."
On the issue of gun control: "A good way to control guns would be to have licenses on bullets instead of the gun itself."
School: Rancho High
Sun Youth Forum year: 1991
Graduation: 1993
College: UNLV (1997), Gonzaga University (2000)
Occupation: Attorney, legal counsel for the Clark County Education Association
Accomplishments: Became an American citizen (1997); admitted to the Nevada Bar (2000); KLAS Channel 8 Portrait of Success Award for community service (2002); deputy assistant general counsel for the Clark County School District (2001-05)
Africa Tellez-Rios Sanchez said writing a column for the Las Vegas Sun about her experiences in the Sun Youth Forum 14 years ago was a good link in a chain of events that she hopes one day will culminate in her becoming a judge.
She said such youth-oriented programs and the assistance of other mentors helped her avoid falling into the trap of so many of her generation who turned to gangs and other criminal activities.
"I recently attended a career day for the Latin Chamber of Commerce, and I was talking with four students, and one of them said there is not an event at her school that is not affected by gunfire or some other form of gang violence," Sanchez said.
"Things have not changed much on the issue of gangs since the early 1990s."
Sanchez recommends that today's youth should follow the path she took by seeking out a good adult mentor to avoid the pitfalls about which she wrote.
"I told District Judge Valorie Vega early on that I wanted to be a judge, but I was concerned that because I was an immigrant from Mexico I could not obtain my dream," Sanchez said.
Sanchez said Vega, a former Clark County deputy district attorney who worked her way through law school by skating in the Roller Derby, has since mentored Sanchez in her efforts to become an effective lawyer and perhaps one day a judge.
Gang members and other criminals will have a lot to worry about if they face future Judge Sanchez for sentencing, because she demonstrated in her Sun column that even as a teen she already knew the score when it comes to plea bargains.
"Plea bargaining could be productive if it is used correctly," Sanchez wrote. "But, if not, it could make it too easy for a criminal to get away with a crime with little punishment."
Sanchez said her lasting memory of participating in the Youth Forum was "being with so many students from different schools and different ethnic backgrounds. It was eye-opening that they had so many different perspectives on so many issues."
Asked about her feelings regarding the Sun Youth Forum celebrating its 50th anniversary, Sanchez said: "It's incredible. What a great opportunity it continues to be for students to come together to discuss current social issues and have their voices heard."
Ed Koch can be reached at 259-4090 or at [email protected].
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