Founder’s Educational Journey and the Origins of Hola Mundo Programs

My name is Adriana Chambliss. I was born and raised in Venezuela, where I developed a lifelong commitment to education, service, and community leadership.

In 1989, I received my Juris Doctor degree from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas, Venezuela. During my years at the university, I discovered a deep passion for education and mentorship. I volunteered my time helping children in underserved communities improve their reading and writing skills while also teaching principles of Catholic values and community responsibility. Those early experiences helping young students planted the seed for what would later become my life’s work.

After marrying in Venezuela, I moved to Pompano Beach, Florida in 1993. I began my professional career in the United States as an international transaction lawyer, working in a law firm in Miami. When my first daughter, Camille, was born, I made the decision to step away from the legal profession to dedicate myself to raising my family. Soon after, my second daughter, Christina, was born.

Living in a bilingual household and raising my daughters in South Florida, I quickly recognized a challenge shared by many families: while Spanish classes were available, they often lacked the inspiration and engagement necessary to truly motivate children to embrace and retain the language. I saw the need for a program that went beyond traditional language instruction—one that would inspire children to want to learn Spanish through meaningful experiences, creativity, and fun.

Motivated by this vision, I began developing hands-on lessons centered around real-life situations and interactive learning. My goal was to combine language acquisition with entertainment, creativity, and experiential learning so that students would develop both linguistic skills and cultural appreciation.

In 2004, I launched Hola Mundo, a Spanish motivational program designed for children ages 3 to 15. What began as an after-school program soon expanded into a summer camp. The camp offered a bilingual curriculum that blended recreation with language learning, creating a dynamic environment where students could naturally acquire Spanish while participating in activities they loved.

The program initially operated at a well-known country club in Pompano Beach, where students participated in sports, arts and crafts, music, drama, and a variety of outdoor recreational activities. This environment proved to be the perfect setting to introduce language learning in a fun, engaging, and immersive way.

In 2009, the program entered into a licensing agreement with the City of Pompano Beach and relocated to the beach. This new setting enhanced the program tremendously. Hola Mundo has since offered uninterrupted recreational and educational programming for elementary, middle, and high school students in one of the most inspiring classrooms imaginable—the oceanfront.

During this time, I also began working full-time as a Spanish teacher at a private school in Pompano Beach while continuing to lead Hola Mundo’s after-school and summer programs. I remained committed to expanding educational activities and developing new learning opportunities for students.

A defining moment came in 2011. While preparing for camp activities at the beach, I noticed a significant amount of debris where the children would soon be playing and swimming. I invited the middle school campers to participate in a beach cleanup. What started as a simple act of responsibility quickly revealed something deeper.

Many of the middle and high school students initially seemed disengaged and reluctant to participate in traditional camp activities. Instead of forcing participation, I invited them to sit together each morning before camp began. Through these discussions, we began designing a collaborative program focused on volunteerism, education, and leadership.

Our early efforts included informal beach awareness campaigns. Students created signs encouraging beachgoers to properly dispose of trash and recycle. During these efforts, they made an important discovery: there were simply not enough trash and recycling bins along the recreational areas of the beach.

Determined to find a solution, we reached out to AshBritt, a global emergency management, disaster recovery, and environmental services contractor. The company generously donated fifteen aluminum bins to the program. The CIT students painted the bins themselves, decorating them with colorful artwork and slogans encouraging recycling, reducing waste, and preventing littering.

This initiative captured the attention of the City of Pompano Beach and became the foundation for a much larger educational project.

Soon after, the students proposed a new idea: creating public art using the trash collected during beach cleanups. From this concept, the program Turning Trash into Treasure was born. Each year, students create a public artwork made from collected debris to communicate an environmental message to the community.

Over time, the program evolved into a multidisciplinary educational experience that integrates:

• Environmental science

• Community service

• Leadership development

• Collaboration and teamwork

• Public speaking and presentation skills

• Writing and research

• Creative expression and public art

Students earn community service hours required by their schools while gaining real-world leadership experience.

Each summer, over an 8–10 week period, students participate in beach cleanups, collaborative discussions to identify environmental themes, and the development of a message they wish to communicate to the community. They write and present their proposals to the Public Art Committee of the City of Pompano Beach and meet with the Mayor to discuss their project.

With the guidance of a professional artist, students then transform collected debris into a large-scale public artwork. The completed piece is unveiled at an installation ceremony on the beach, attended by city officials, members of the Public Art Committee, families, and community leaders.

For many years, I have personally supported and operated this program with limited resources but unwavering dedication. Recognizing the growing impact and potential of the initiative, I established Hola Mundo Programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The mission of Hola Mundo Programs is to expand this educational model across the coastline of Florida and eventually beyond. Through partnerships with schools, municipalities, educators, artists, scientists, and community organizations, the program seeks to inspire young leaders to protect our environment while developing the skills necessary to become engaged citizens.

To achieve this vision, Hola Mundo Programs is seeking philanthropic support to:

• Develop a professional website and digital learning platform

• Hire grant writers and fundraising professionals

• Recruit educators, researchers, environmental scientists, and artists

• Train volunteers and program leaders

• Develop educational materials and curriculum guides for elementary, middle, and high schools

• Integrate the program into science, environmental studies, and leadership curricula throughout Florida

• Expand community engagement initiatives along Florida’s coastline
   

Hola Mundo Programs believes that young people can become powerful catalysts for change. With the support of philanthropic partners, we can empower students to become environmental leaders, strengthen their communities, and inspire a new generation dedicated to sustainability, creativity, and civic responsibility.

Together, we can transform education, leadership, and environmental stewardship—one student, one beach, and one community at a time