Montclair State University students got the opportunity to network, attend workshops, and learn about the diverse culture of the Hispanic community at the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) in Chicago, Illinois. The event took place from February 13th to 16th, and student leaders were invited through the Office of Hispanic Initiatives.
Picture provided by Nereida Delgado Garcia
Some of the leaders included:
- Pamela Garcia, the president of the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) and a Hermana of Sigma Lambda Upsilon;
- Joaquim Vazquez, the Latino programming intern at the Office of Hispanic Initiatives, and secretary and programming chair for Sigma Lamba Beta International Fraternity;
- Grace Velazquez, an office branding and social media assistant to the Office for Hispanic Initiatives, and LASO’s publicity chair, and;
- Nereida Delgado Garcia, the president of the Mexican American Student Association (MASA) and the social media intern for the Bonner Leader Program.
The student leaders expressed all their gratitude to the Office of Hispanic Initiatives for funding and selecting them for the trip.
“I was very grateful for the opportunity. It was very exciting as my first opportunity to travel, let alone be sponsored by an office here on campus,” stated Vasquez.
The student leaders attended different workshops at the event depending on each student’s interest. These workshops included opportunities to grow skills such as interviewing and career growth, while others included hands-on experiences to work and grow as an individual and team.
“I learned about what employee resource groups were and how bigger corporate spaces support multi-culture or Latin culture organizations for success,” Garcia said, who attended a workshop called “Ace the Interview: Strategies for Career Success.”
Picture provided by Nereida Delgado Garcia
Velazquez, the president of MASA, attended a workshop called “The Once and Future Country: Reaffirming the Mexican American Identity and Nationalist America.” This workshop included topics such as discrimination against Mexicans, past and present, and the Chicano movement. As president of MASA, she was also exposed to an early version known as the “Mexican American Youth Organization.”
However, the conference offered the students a way to socialize and wind down at the end of the day, such as mixers and karaoke. In addition to exploring the city of Chicago, the student leaders had multiple opportunities to have fun experiences.
“They had mixers from 10:00 the first day, the second day was 12:50, and then the last day was 1:50, in the morning, so they had us like partying in a professional way,” Velazquez said.
This allowed for networking with others and learning about Latin cultures through fun events while the rest of the day is focused on professional development.
Picture provided by Nereida Delgado Garcia
As a group, the student leaders could also visit Chicago experiences such as the National Mexican Museum of Art, cafés, trying deep dish pizzas and visiting the bean.
While only a few students were selected for his trip, the lessons and experiences can be shared throughout the students of Latin organizations. The United States Hispanic Leadership Institute allowed for a shared experience of learning about different Latin cultures, creating an emphasis of unity between the communities.
“I feel like you come back with being not only cultured, but well-versed,” Velazquez said. “There are diverse groups of people that are out there in different industries that are Latinos.”
Although the Latin American Student Organization is meant to represent Latino students on campus and has been an organization since the 1970s, today many different branches of Latin communities.
“Now we are seeing a branch of different organizations [and] of different cultures that are blooming into their environment, so this opportunity is just making us grow more and more,” Vasquez said.
