Jonah Ledesma isn’t afraid to put his creative juices into lyrics.

The incoming junior at East Union High not only writes his own songs but is one of six student coaches at the Great Valley Writing Program. The third and final installment of the nonprofit summer workshop made possible by the California State University, Stanislaus, and the San Joaquin County Office of Education concludes this week.

Ledesma, 16, is also the lead singer and guitarist for an alternative rock group, United Front.

“You’re putting your life on display for everyone to hear,” he said about songwriting at Tuesday’s GVWP session.

United Front will perform a mini concert to students, teachers, staff and visitors at the writing and technology workshop open house finale Friday at the Goodwin Community School, 1271 N. Main St., from 10:45 a.m. to noon.

The public is invited to attend.

The open house celebration will include video and live performances from the GVWP students.

Ledesma was a student of the GVWP workshop as a sixth-grader at New Haven School. A year later, he picked up his sister’s guitar and started playing it by ear and making the most of online information.

It wasn’t long before he was able to combine the creative writing process into lyrics.

“I wanted to write my own music,” Ledesma said. “Music became my passion.”

He’s managed to pour his heart, soul and range of emotions into his songs.

Ledesma recently reconnected with one of his GVWP teachers, who encouraged him to return as a student coach.

“Every year, we’re looking for students to come back and help out as coaches,” said Melissa King, who is the coordinator of the programs.

Her previous workshops this summer were two-week programs at Ripon High (Ripon Unified) and Woodward School (Manteca Unified).

The Goodwin workshop is a three-week program with 15 teachers helping out. At the end of each session, they get together and discuss strategies.

“They’ll reflect what they learned and what they want to accomplish,” said King, who is also helped out by administrative coordinator Brenda Madsen, computer coordinator Paul Fern, and coordinator / team leader Robin Alexander, to name a few.

King noted that the program challenges teachers to expand their knowledge and refine their craft while helping young authors to improve their writing and publishing skills.

The programs are 100 percent community-funded: No taxpayer dollars are used. Instead, generous contributions from local businesses and individuals helped to ensure that local teachers attend the courses at no charge, and with at least half the students being able to participate thanks to full scholarships.

Last summer, GVWP raised over $19,000 to support the educational programs for teachers and students in Manteca, Lathrop and Ripon.