Following the launch of our  2012 Student Leadership Series during our 30th national conference in Chicago on February 16, the first local event was held yesterday in Salt Lake City, UT.  Over 1000 students, educators, and public officials attended the day-long event, which was held at the University of Utah. The event was covered widely by local television and print media.

Our featured speakers were former Astronaut, Dr. Jose Hernandez and the president and co-founder of CoolSpeak LLC, Carlos Ojeda, Jr. from Philadelphia. Public officials attending and briefly addressing the event included Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, and Judge Andrew Vasquez.

USHLI president, Dr. Juan Andrade, Jr., said "This event consisted of a great mixture and blend of themes around the importance of language, culture, music, dance, leadership skills development, preparing for college, and career planning. It was a thrill to see students representing approximately 40 middle schools and high schools so excited about the future and their plans to pursue post-secondary education or training. We look forward to partnering again with Latinos in Action, a super organization doing great work under the leadership of Jose Enriquez."