LATINO Magazine recently presented AHORA Student Days in Lancaster, California and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. These events brought together high school students with outstanding role models from corporate America, the Federal government, U.S. Armed Forces and other careers. Each AHORA Student Day consisted of an interactive panel in which students could ask questions of the speakers and learn about career opportunites in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

In Lancaster, the AHORA Student Day was hosted by the Antelope Valley Union HIgh School District and took place at Eastside High School. The audience of over 150 students from local high schools were welcomed by Superintendant David J. Vierra. The keynote speaker was  entrepreneur and community leader Lou Gonzales, owner of Antelope Valley Chevrolet. The first panel focused on career and education, and panelists included Lupe Delgado, Manufacturing Engineer, Northrop Grumman; Michael Huggins, Chief of the Space and Missile Production Division, Air Force Research Lab; Manny Sanchez, Systems Engineer, Lockheed Martin; and Antelope Valley native Katja Guevara, a student at UC Davis majoring in Biological Science.

The tone of the second panel was set by Eric Peterson, a 36-year veteran of GM who serves as U.S. Vice President, Diversity Dealer Relations, and discussed the importance for Latinos of Dr. Martin Luther King’s teachings of inclusion and diversity. The other distinguished panelists included McDonald’s franchisee  and philanthropist Hernando Marroquin; Joseph Velasquez, co-founder of OjoOido.com;  and Sandra Johnson, Lancaster city councilwoman and co-founder of the University of Antelope Valley.

The AHORA Student Day in the Rio Grande Valley took place on the campus of the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) in Edinburg. Students were welcomed by Dr. Martha Cantu, Vice President for Student Affairs. Emilio de los Santos, Hidalgo Veterans Service Office Director, described the importance of registering with the Selective Service System. Chrysler was represented by Maria Falealo, Global Perceived Quality Lead in the FIAT-Chrysler Customer Quality Office in Auburn HIlls, MI.   The panelists included Ruby Longoria,  Chair of the Hispanic Organization of Leaders in Action (HOLA) at Microsoft; Samantha Montesinos, a native of Hidalgo, TX and a recent graduate of UTPA now at the Chrysler Institute of Engineering; and Carlos Salinas, also a native of the Rio Grande Valley but now based in Round Rock with State Farm.

The event ended with an appearance by Dr. Robert Nelsen, the president of UTPA. Dr. Nelsen spoke passionately about the importance of a STEM career and the opportunities that awaited students in this area. He also described the upcoming merger between UTPA and UT Brownsville, creating UT Rio Grande Valley in 2015.

 

LANCASTER RIO GRANDE VALLEY

 

(l-r)  Eric Peterson, David Vierra,

and Lou Gonzales

(l-r)  Lupe Delgado, Katja Guevara, Manny Sanchez, and Michael Huggins

(l-r)  Joseph Velasquez, Sandra Johnson,
and Hernando Marroquin

 

 

Emilio de los Santos

(l-r)  Carlos Salinas, Samantha Montesinos, and Ruby Longoria

Dr. Martha Cantu

(l-r)  Becky Thomas, Samantha Montesinos, Dr. Robert Nelsen, Barbara Salas,

and Maria Falealo