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Hispanic College Day for high school students

May 6, 2010

KALAMAZOO--About 500 students from six area counties will participate in Hispanic College Day from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, May 7, at Western Michigan University. The event will take place in the Bernhard Center on WMU's main campus in Kalamazoo. It will provide meaningful career decision-making and college-exploration opportunities for area students in grades 9-12 who are the most at risk of not being able to pursue higher education.

The participating students represent Michigan school districts in Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Van Buren, Berrien, Allegan and Cass counties. They were selected by their high schools based on having a grade point average of 2.5 or better, expressing and demonstrating a sincere interest in college, maintaining a good attendance record this year, and demonstrating good interpersonal skills in the classroom.

To begin the day, each age group will engage in different activities. Freshmen will take a self-assessment survey, sophomores will take a survey of the options available to high school graduates, juniors will receive college and financial aid information and seniors will take part in an "Are you ready for the real world?" activity. During the rest of the day, the students will attend presentations by successful Latinos in the professional world and current college students, gaining additional insight into how to be successful and achieve personal goals.

The keynote speaker for Hispanic College Day will be retired Lt. Col. Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, a nationally recognized youth motivational speaker who was the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in combat support at the time of her retirement from the U.S. Army. Her talk will convey a strong message about what it takes to be an effective leader in today's global society.

Complete biography
Lt. Col. Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch

For more information, contact Pedro Martinez, Hispanic College Day co-chair, at pmartinez@vbisd.org, (269) 674-8091 or (269) 208-0281.

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Media contact: Cheryl Roland, (269) 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu

WMU News
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
(269) 387-8400
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