LIVE STREAMING
Photo: AL DÍA Stock Image
Photo: AL DÍA Stock Image

AL DÍA Higher Education Summit can really change the trajectory of Latino students

AL DÍA is hosting a higher education summit to address a number of important details and facts needed for Latinos, and other communities, to pursue higher…

MORE IN THIS SECTION

Jean Franco

Rigoberta Menchú

Margaret Tatcher

Madeleine Albright

Villanova to preserve Cabrin

Villanova to preserve Cabrin

Listen To Your Teacher

SHARE THIS CONTENT:

With the purpose of uniting academic leaders from institutions across the Greater Philadelphia area, the AL DÍA Higher Education Leaders Summit 2019 will be a great opportunity for Hispanic students in the region.

The event will encompass four major themes, and feature a number of panel speakers. The panelists will cover several of the socioeconomic hardships many in the Latino community often face that make it difficult for many Hispanic students to succeed in high school and go on to attend or complete higher education, and more.

This summit is crucial because, according to a 2016 study by Pew Research, the Hispanic high school dropout rate is among the highest in the nation at roughly 12 percent. In addition, despite the fact that more Hispanics are receiving postsecondary education, they still lag behind other groups in obtaining four-year degrees.

According to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute, Latino students also often face many financial hurdles, with 60 percent of Latino students receiving federal aid, and about 40 percent receiving Pell grants.

These statistics are just some of the topics that will be discussed during the AL DÍA Higher Education Summit.

The first theme the Summit will tackle will be the national context of Hispanics in higher education. This segment will feature Dr. Manuel S. González Canché, associate professor of higher education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, as the keynote speaker; as well as Noé Ortega, deputy secretary and commissioner of postsecondary and higher education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, as the responder. A Q&A session afterwards will be moderated by Mark Kiselica, acting provost and vice president for academic affairs at Cabrini University.  

The second theme will discuss the best practices in recruiting and retaining Hispanic students, and will feature Deborah Santiago, co-founder and CEO of Excelencia in Education as the keynote speaker; and Dr. David Hurtado, interim executive dean at Esperanza College of Eastern University.

The third theme will feature two Drexel University medical students—Paulina Ramirez and Alfredo Muñoz—who will be discussing their personal journeys as part of the Latinx community and entering medical school. 

The fourth and final theme will be a college and university partnership panel. In addition to Kiselica, the panel with feature Gloria Bonilla Santiago, board of governors distinguished service professor in the graduate department of public policy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; David “Rico” Ascencio, dean of students at the Community College of Philadelphia; Virginia Ramirez, admissions recruiter at the Community College of Philadelphia; and Elisha Moreno, assistant profession and ESL program coordinator at Reading Area Community College.

Following the panel discussions, the event will conclude with a detailed call to action by Pedro Rivera, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Pedro Rivera. Photo: Arturo Varela / AL DÍA News

This 'call to action' will likely detail the steps that need to be taken in order to improve the status of Hispanics, and other groups when it comes to higher education. That includes increasing the number of those students who are able to pursue advanced degrees, increasing the ability to retain the students who do enroll, increasing graduation rates among Latino students, and increasing the number of students who are able to go on to successful endeavors after graduation.

This summit will take place Thursday, Jan. 31 at the Pyramid Club from 8:30am to 3:30pm. Tickets are still available for purchase here.

  • LEAVE A COMMENT:

  • Join the discussion! Leave a comment.

  • or
  • REGISTER
  • to comment.
  • LEAVE A COMMENT:

  • Join the discussion! Leave a comment.

  • or
  • REGISTER
  • to comment.
00:00 / 00:00
Ads destiny link