Last modified: Wednesday, January 30, 2008
IU students co-sponsor the 2008 Indiana Latino Leadership Conference with Purdue
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 30, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University Bloomington students from the Latino Cultural Center (La Casa) are working, for the first time, with Purdue University to sponsor a one-day leadership conference.
The 2008 Indiana Latino Leadership Conference will be March 1 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Purdue University in West Lafayette. This year's theme is "Leaders Without Borders/Lideres Sin Fronteras." This will be the ninth year IU has sponsored the conference, but it will be the first year for Purdue to host the event. The conference is designed to cultivate leadership among Latino students.
"The goal of the conference is for students to come together in order to network and enhance their leadership skills," said Tiffany Guridy, an IU sophomore and member of the conference's publicity committee.
The day includes a career fair, workshops and guest speakers. This year, Purdue University President France A. Córdova will address conference attendees.
"We are very excited about this because it goes with our theme of leaders without borders," Guridy said.
The conference's venue was changed from IU to Purdue at the request of students who had attended in the past, wanting to see the conference move from university to university each year. When Purdue contacted the IU conference committee about having them be mentors for a similar event, Guridy said the decision was made to have it in West Lafayette. Guridy said the conference was beneficial in years past and believes it will be even better this year.
"It made me think of things I have never thought about as a Latina and encouraged me to excel in whatever I do and make a difference," Guridy said. "It promotes leadership for students as well as networking."
Attending the conference has been a positive experience for IU senior Lupe Arroyo, who is also on the conference publicity committee. "This is my third year participating in this event, and every year is a different and amazing experience," Arroyo said. "At the conference, I had the chance to see leaders grow as well as the conference committee. Planning the conference also enhanced my leadership and organizational skills through working on such a big event."
Lillian Casillas, director of La Casa, said the conference is unique because it is put together by students for students.
"It is an opportunity for students to network across universities and among college and high school students," Casillas said.
The conference is open to the public and registration can be completed online at https://www.purdue.edu/lcc/ILLC08/. The fee for students is $10. Those who are interested in exhibiting can be a part of the conference also by choosing from one of several packages:
Black & Cream Exhibitor Package, $150
College/University Exhibitor Package, $100
Crimson & Gold Exhibitor Package, $300
Non-Profit Exhibitor Package, $100
Student Org Exhibitor Package, $45
For more information about the conference, visit: https://www.purdue.edu/lcc/ILLC08/index.shtml.
To speak with a student involved with the conference, contact Nicole Roales at nroales@indiana.edu or 812-856-3717.
About La Casa
The Latino Cultural Center, La Casa, was established at Indiana University in November 1973. Its purpose was, and continues to be, to achieve through educational and social programs a greater historical, political and cultural awareness regarding Latina/os. As an advocacy office, La Casa works closely with other units on campus to assist in the recruitment and retention of Latina/o students. La Casa is staffed by a full-time director, an administrative assistant, a graduate assistant and a number of undergraduate work-study students whose goal is also to create an environment where anyone in the Latino community can go and feel a sense of community and belonging.
