Hispanic College Fund sponsors symposium designed to inspire and guide 100 underserved high school students into college and careers
An inspiring and expanding program to help develop and grow the next generation of professionals will guide 100 promising high school students on a path to achieving college degrees and careers for the first time in New Mexico this summer. The inaugural New Mexico Hispanic Youth Symposium will be launched at the University of New Mexico July 9-12, by the Hispanic College Fund, a nationally renowned nonprofit that provides scholarships and programs to Hispanic students eager to achieve a college education and professional career.
The symposium will serve promising students from all around the state of New Mexico and encourage and guide them to enter the fields of business, science, technology, engineering and math.
The Hispanic College Fund has chosen New Mexico Mathematics, Engineering Science Achievement (NM MESA) Inc. as its New Mexico partner to help identify and recruit student participants and coordinate year-round educational programming. NM MESA is a non-profit organization that promotes educational enrichment for middle and high school students from historically underrepresented ethnic groups.
NM MESA Director Toney Begay said he is thrilled about the collaboration between NM MESA and the Hispanic College Fund to implement the first Hispanic Youth Symposium in New Mexico.
"It just falls right in place with our mission to support high school students in their educational endeavors and also to provide enrichment activities, events, and classes in the math, science, and engineering areas," he said. "We want to provide encouragement that students can be successful, and that they truly can major and succeed in these subjects that they expected to be difficult and hard."
The University of New Mexico is serving as university partner in the New Mexico Hispanic Youth Symposium, providing facilities and funding and helping with administration.
Rose Cervantes, program operations of the College Enrichment and Outreach Programs at UNM, said the institution's Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Eliseo "Cheo" Torres and Interim Provost Dr. Vi Flores have been tremendously supportive in collaborating to bring the program to the Albuquerque campus. In addition, there is a committee with members from across the state to ensure statewide participation, Cervantes said.
"This symposium is about reaching out to our students across New Mexico by promoting leadership development and higher education. We really need to offer resources and opportunities to students who would not otherwise be exposed to them," Cervantes said. "To be able to offer the Hispanic Youth Symposium at our university is, well, amazing in my opinion, especially as we watch the partnerships come together so well for the benefit of the students. It's a win-win situation for everyone."
Nearly one-half (44.7 percent) of New Mexico's population is Hispanic, but as recently as 2006, only 12.5 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. had a college degree - the lowest rate of any group in the United States.
"New Mexico MESA is the ideal partner for this effective and innovative symposium, especially as it is tailored to the region," said Lindsay Bernsten, director of the Hispanic College Fund Youth Symposium, Western Region. "They have tutoring resources, they encourage talented students to pursue science and math, and the Hispanic Youth Symposium complements the leadership element of what they do. They also have connections to students throughout the entire state, making this symposium unique in its reach and diversity of students."
Boasting an impressive track record in several major U.S. cities, the Hispanic Youth Symposium has grown into a four-day event and one-year follow-up program designed to increase Latino knowledge of the milestones and prerequisites needed to prepare for and attend college.
This year in Albuquerque, it will inspire students to nurture their dreams and take pride in Hispanic culture with educational workshops, leadership opportunities, mentorship, and an emphasis on academic achievement.
The symposium reaches out to student participants who meet the following criteria:
* Have a minimum 2.5 GPA
* Are Hispanic, Native American, or relate to the Hispanic culture
* Have completed the application to participate
* Are rising sophomores, juniors, or seniors in high school
* Are residents of New Mexico
NM MESA will conduct follow-up sessions with all symposium alumni. Throughout the year, the non-profit will offer leadership, career, and college preparation workshops; college visits, tutoring services, educational field trips and speakers, standardized test preparation, and mentorship opportunities.
To help administer the symposium, about 150 community volunteers will be engaged to assist with everything from logistics coordination to talent show judging. Approximately 20 college student resident advisors who work as volunteers also are being recruited to help with the symposium management.
New Mexico Hispanic Youth Symposium sponsors include Applied Research Associates, Inquiry Facilitators, Los Alamos National Labs, Sandia National Labs, the University of New Mexico, and Wells Fargo. The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce is also supporting the program as a lead community partner.
For more information on the national Hispanic Youth Symposium, visit: www.hispanicyouth.org.
For information on how to sponsor the Hispanic Youth Symposium, call Kathryn Grady at (202) 527-0372 or e-mail her at kgrady@hispanicfund.org.