KU News Release

KU’s Latino Leadership Summit draws more than 150 area high school students

LAWRENCE — More than 150 area high school students and their counselors attended the Latino Leadership Summit last month at the University of Kansas.

This was KU’s third Latino Leadership Summit, said Santos Nunez Galicia, program director for KU’s Multicultural Resource Center. The workshops and speakers encouraged students to prepare for educational opportunities following high school graduation. The Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Admissions and Scholarships sponsored the event.

Joel Aldape, operations manager with the Social Security Administration Mid-America Program Center in Kansas City, Mo., and Stevan A. Cisneros, executive director of the Kansas Hispanic Latino Affairs Commission, delivered keynote addresses.

Panels and workshops were tailored for the high school students and their counselors. Students in grades nine and 10 attended “Preparing for Post-Secondary Education” while students in grades 11 and 12 attended the workshop on “Leadership for Aspiring College Students.”

KU faculty and staff participating in the program were: Lee Furbeck, associate director of admissions and scholarships; Nunez-Galicia; Juan Izaguirre, assistant director of the Student Involvement and Leadership Center; Rueben Perez, director of the Student Involvement and Leadership Center; Steve Ramirez, equal opportunity specialist in Human Resources and Equal Opportunity; Robert Rodriguez, associate director of education administration in the School of Education; Evelia Sandoval, administrative associate, housing office; Terese Thonus, director of KU Writing Center; Jose Trujillo, financial aid counselor; and Greg Valdovino, assistant director of admissions and scholarships.

KU student participants were: Astrid Beltran, master’s degree student in education from Lawrence; David Gonzalez, a junior from Santa Monica, Calif., and president of KU’s Hispanic American Leadership Organization; and Eric Martinez, a junior from Garden City and president of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations chapter at KU.

Beltran is specializing in higher education at KU. She received a bachelor’s degree earlier this year from Western Illinois State University in Macomb.

Gonzalez is majoring in American studies and Latin American studies and is the son of Gonzalo and Felicitas Gonzalez of Santa Monica, Calif. (90405). He is a graduate of Santa Monica High School.

Martinez majoring in psychology and is a graduate of Garden City High School. He transferred to KU from Garden City Community College.

The high school students and counselors who attended the Latino Leadership Summit are listed below.

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