Kelci Garcia and Diego Martinez are shown outside the world famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

ANTONITO - Antonito high School student Kelci Garcia started her summer into high gear attending a summer camp in Hollywood California.

Singer, songwriter, event coordinator Sahara Martinez (born in the San Luis Valley) first conceived of the idea several years back.

She wanted her cousin Jerry Chacon to get out of the Valley and look at other career options outside the Valley before graduating high school. The trip was never taken due to a fatal car accident.

Sahara wanted to help sponsor and host a youth from the Valley that she could bring to Hollywood and show them that is isn’t impossible.

Sahara says, “We are only limited by our fears.” Sahara has traveled the world as a Musician and singer.

She has done movie premieres for Adam Sandler and Tom Cruise, the Grammy awards and a presidential inauguration. She also performed at the Ortega Middle School as a dancer/singer.

Gail Martinez, a recent Boettcher Foundation nominated teacher, was given an open grant. She used the Boettcher funds to make it easier for students from Antonito High School to pay for and attend summer camps. She believes a good student never stops learning.

Diego Martinez, math/science teacher from Antonito High School and brother of Sahara Martinez asked the music teacher Mike Trujillo what student would most benefit from an internship/camp in Hollywood.

He suggested several students and Kelci Garcia applied and was selected for the scholarship. Some highlights of the week long camp were auditing a professional acting class, learning to play congas, sitting in on a recording session, meeting professional musicians/singers/dancers and taking a hip-hop dance class at Millennium dance complex.

Diego Martinez, a math and science teacher, also had the opportunity on the trip to take a test drive in the Tesla roadster a 100-percent electric vehicle that does 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, and gets the equivalent of 135 miles per gallon “I was like a kid with a way cool new toy. I talked to an engineer form Tesla motors and pitched him the idea of a solar charging station in Antonito.

He liked the idea and I am working on a formal proposal. Kelci is one of my top math students and I am glad she got to see this vehicle.”

Diego Martinez commented, “Just because students are from small towns doesn’t limit their reach. In fact get on the net and read about all the astronauts, most of them are from small farming towns. We can do anything! Some people think being from the valley has a lot of disadvantages. If one agrees with that then that is ultimately their reality but not mine.”