An estimated 1,360 junior high and high school students, as well as parents in Elgin, IL attended our Student Leadership Series events on September 17-20. The overwhelming majority of students were English Language Learners. The SLS events focused on building vocabulary and learning the power of words by using them in poetry.  Students learned more about doing their part in building stronger families by improving their relationships with their parents and siblings.  Our high-powered speakers motivated them to focus on education, improve their academic performance, transition successfully into the next grade level, set their sights on graduation, and to make plans to pursue some kind of post-secondary education or training.  A Parent Leadership Training session was also held in the evening.    

Our featured speakers were Joaquin Zihuatanejo, the reigning World Champion in Spoken Word and now living in Dallas, and Ernesto Mejia from Chicago.

This was our 26th event of 2012, bringing the total number of students, parents, and professionals served to 37,225 in 18 states.    

The primary goal of the Student Leadership Series is to ensure that every Latino family has a student that is one of the following: the 1st student to graduate high school; the 1st student to enroll in post-secondary education or training; the 1st student to graduate post-secondary education or training. The USHLI 2012 Student Leadership Series officially launched February 16th and consists of Stay-in-School Rallies for middle school and junior high students, Career & College Recruitment Fairs for high school students, Regional Leadership Summits for college students, and, whenever possible, Parent Leadership Training and Professional Development events.