Our 2013 Student Leadership Series (SLS) partnered with Latinos in Action under the leadership of Executive Director, Dr. Jose Enriquez to reach 2,750 middle, junior high and high school students representing 86 schools in Utah. The events were held on March 1 at Utah Valley University and March 6 at Weber State University.

This event consisted of a great mixture and blend of themes around the importance of language, culture, music, dance, leadership development, college readiness, and career planning.   Latinos in Action, a Utah-based non-profit organization, has developed an extraordinarily successful model which we encourage other schools throughout the nation to consider integrating into their respective curriculums.

The morning keynote speakers were CoolSpeak Co-founder Ernesto Mejia from Chicago and Joaquin Zihuatanejo, a World-Champion spoken word artist from Denton. The closing speaker for each event was Marlen Esparza, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant from Houston, TX who became the first American female boxer to earn a position in the Olympics and the first to earn a medal (Bronze) at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

SLS participating schools will see their students become better motivated and more determined to succeed academically and in life.  Their dropout rate will decrease and the graduation rate will increase as more and more students are inspired to inquire about post-secondary options, apply, and be accepted, thus fueling the Latino academic achievement pipeline toward career and success.  Over 27,863 students, parents, and professionals in 8 states have been reached in 2013.

Persons interested in hosting an SLS event in 2013 should contact Dr. Juan Andrade at docandrade@ushli.org or Martha Villegas Miranda at mvillegas@ushli.org.