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Symposium born of results-driven national program offering college preparation skills, leadership development, and support throughout year
VIRGINIA - An inspiring and expanding program to help develop and grow the next generation of Hispanic professionals will guide 400 promising high school students on a path to achieving college degrees and careers in Virginia this summer.
The Virginia Hispanic Youth Symposium will be launched at the University of Richmond on July 16-19 and George Mason University on August 6-9 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 symposia will serve promising Hispanic students, encouraging and guiding them to enter the fields of business, science, technology, engineering, and math.
Boasting an impressive track record in several major U.S. cities, the 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.
In Virginia, the Hispanic Youth Symposia will inspire students to nurture their ambitions and teach pride in Hispanic culture with educational workshops, leadership opportunities, mentorship, and an emphasis on academic achievement. The Virginia symposia were born of last year’s Greater Washington Hispanic Youth Symposium; thanks to its four years of growth and success, the DC program was split into three symposia in 2008.
The Office of Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine has provided significant support to the Virginia Hispanic Youth Symposium, including volunteers as well as funding this year.
“We are very excited that the Commonwealth will be hosting two Hispanic Youth Symposia this summer,” Governor Kaine said. “Exposing more of our Latino students to the resources they need to navigate the college process is at the core of the mission of the Hispanic Youth Symposia. We are very fortunate to have a diverse student body in our K-12 system and the symposia will ensure that our Latino student population continues to increase its representation at the higher education level.”
“Research has shown that one of the most significant barriers to Latinos attending college is a lack of knowledge about the college preparation process,” said Hispanic College Fund President Idalia Fernandez. “The Hispanic Youth Symposium provides Latino students information, mentors and, best of all, the knowledge that yes, college is possible,” Fernandez said.
The number of Hispanics living in Virginia tripled between 1990 and 2006, according to a study released earlier this year by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. “Considering that as recently as 2006, only 12.5% of Hispanics in the U.S. had a college degree, the lowest rate of any group in the United States, the Hispanic Youth Symposium is working to effectively boost this statistic,” Fernandez said.
Follow-up research by the Hispanic College Fund has shown that after students participated in symposia throughout the United States - including Fresno, Calif. and Baltimore, Md. - they significantly increased their knowledge of the college application process and dramatically raised their interest in pursuing internships and volunteering in their communities. The large majority reported gaining a positive role model/mentor from the program. At the conclusion of last year’s symposium in Washington, DC, 81 percent of the students considered themselves college-bound.
Werner Parilla, 20, is a Bucknell University engineering student on a full-tuition scholarship from attending the 2006 Greater Washington Symposium. He said the nomination and scholarship award made it possible for him to fulfill his dream of attending college.
“I had an amazing experience. The Hispanic Youth Symposium taught me networking skills and the fundamentals to college and career success that you just don’t learn in school,” he said. “I think that’s the most important part of symposium - it brings in Hispanic professionals who are really, really successful. They showed us that success is in reach. Every single last one of the students left inspired, thinking they could make it. That’s what has driven a lot of us to succeed.”
The University of Richmond is serving as a university partner in the Virginia Hispanic Youth Symposium in Richmond in July, providing facilities and funding and assisting with administration and logistics.
“While most young people hear about college, they often don’t really have any idea what going to college is all about,” said John McCulla, University of Richmond’s director of community relations. “That’s especially true for young people who could be the first member of their families to go to college. We hope that hosting the symposium at the University of Richmond will give them a clear picture of how exciting and rewarding higher education can be. And we hope that they and their families will take home the knowledge that financial aid is available to make college economically possible for almost any qualified student.”
George Mason University will host the Fairfax symposium in August as university partner to the Hispanic College Fund.
“The University is honored to be joining the effort to bring the symposium to area students this year,” said George Mason’s director of Summer Term Cathy Evans. The symposium dovetails with George Mason’s Early Identification Program, which focuses on students who are the first in their families to attend college.
“We anticipate this to be the beginning of an exciting and rewarding partnership,” Evans said. “I am delighted that the students will have an opportunity to experience life on a university campus. It’s one thing to see something on TV or hear about it, but to actually come to a university, take classes, learn new things - this experience will benefit them immeasurably. It will inspire the confidence that they, too, can apply for college and pursue a degree, leading to a fulfilling and productive career.”
To help administer the symposium in both Richmond and Fairfax, 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 at each campus.
“The Hispanic College Fund depends on its community partners to help reach students and mobilize support from local donations to volunteers,” said Fernando Barrueta, CEO of the Hispanic College Fund. “We bring national sponsorships and visibility to the communities that we serve - and national opportunities for students - but we rely on the local support to make the program as successful and personal as it is. It truly will help shape the next workforce of scientific and technical graduates in these communities,” Barrueta said.
PNC Bank is a local supporter of the Virginia Hispanic Youth Symposium in Fairfax for a second time this year.
“We are proud to support the Hispanic Youth Symposium, which we have found to be a valuable and effective program for connecting education to the Hispanic community,” said Matthew Gracie, PNC group segment manager for multicultural banking.
In addition to funding and providing volunteers at the symposium, PNC bank runs a workshop for students to motivate and educate them about financial services and investing. Gracie, who created the workshop’s financial services game, said it was a hit with students, who learned by investing play money in a speedy timeframe how to reap rewards by sticking to a balanced strategy.
“There was an enormous amount of energy in the room as we played,” Gracie said. “Not only was it rewarding to sense the excitement students experienced in making sound financial decisions, it was a bonus to see students express an interest in pursuing a career in the financial services industry - something they might not have contemplated otherwise.”
Virginia Hispanic Youth Symposia sponsors also include Governor Kane/Assembly, PNC Bank and Kaiser Permanente.
The symposium reaches out to student participants who meet the following criteria:
In order to track the results of each symposium, the Hispanic College Fund will conduct pre- and post-event surveys to determine whether students show a marked improvement in their understanding of the college application process, the financial aid process, and the role that community involvement and high school academic achievement play in the college preparation process. Also, the Hispanic College Fund will conduct a longitudinal study of its student participants to track how their college preparation improves, whether they go to college, the caliber of the college they attend, and the kind of career they pursue upon graduation.
In May, the website of the Virginia Hispanic Youth Symposium will be released. For more information on the national Hispanic Youth Symposium, go to www.hispanicyouth.org.
About the Hispanic College Fund
Founded in 1993, the Hispanic College Fund is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., with a mission to develop the next generation of Hispanic professionals. For 15 years HCF has provided scholarships and, since its founding, has incorporated internship and mentoring programs for students throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The result is an established career pipeline of talented and career-driven Hispanics who are trained in the fields of business, science, technology, and math.
The Hispanic College Fund has an annual budget of $6 million with 20 full-time employees. In 2006, the Hispanic College Fund received the Brillante award for “Nonprofit of the Year” from the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, and in 2007 was recognized by USA Today as one of the nation’s top 25 charities.
Website: www.hispanicfund.org
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Contact: Lisa Sandoval, Director of Communications, (202) 296-5400 ext. 117
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