Create college opportunities for Latino students

It has been an exciting month of March! Our SLI high school students have experienced some wonderful learning, leadership and service opportunities that will no doubt help them in their journey towards college.

• Students met at Eastern Mennonite University’s Studio Theatre where they learned from member of the Inside/Out Playback Theatre to use theatre to express their stressors and anxieties. 
• Several seniors participated in JMU’s 12th Annual Diversity Conference by presenting a professional panel discussion of best practices for recruiting and retaining Hispanic students.

• A Spring Leadership Retreat was held at Bridgewater College. The retreat was organized by SLI college mentor and Bridgewater College senior, Jasmine Guardarrama, and hosted by Bridgewater College’s Office of Admissions.
• 
  In SLI alumni news, Lupe Zarate (Class of 2017) completed 10 hour training to be certified as mental health first aid provider. Alicia Garcia (Class of 2017) received a scholarship from the Virginia Latino Higher Education Network (VALHEN) so that she can continue her studies at Blue Ridge Community College. Maria Cardoso (Class of 2017) has been admitted into the nursing program at Eastern Mennonite University.

While all our high school seniors of the Class of 2018 have received admittance notifications from the colleges that they have applied to, and some have learned of financial aid packages they may be eligible to receive. Unfortunately, a number of students will not be eligible to receive support through federal financial aid because of matters pertaining to their parents’ residency status. This is where our SLI Scholar College Award and SLI Computer Awards help fill a seemingly impossible void.

In our next report, we’ll announce where some of our students will be attending so that we can continue to follow their dream quest. 

Best regards!

~ Carlos Aleman