TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The College of Southern Idaho is hosting 800 students on its campus for the Idaho Youth Hispanic Leadership Summit on Sept. 27.
This summit is covering topics such as STEM, college preparation, leadership building, and career pathways. Scholarship's are also to be awarded. Last year over $7,000,000 in scholarships were awarded.
“It’s a big deal for a lot of schools especially a lot of the rural schools from surrounding areas that are able to come to this because they don’t get a lot of resources like this so it’s really great to have CSI open their campus up for this,” said J.J. Saldaña, community resource development specialist for the Idaho commission on Hispanic affairs.
The event is at full capacity with 800 students are registered to attend. CSI is the first Hispanic serving institution in the state of Idaho. Saldaña said he knows the importance of equipping students early and this summit is one way of getting them extra resources in the Magic Valley.
“We see about 75% of the students that do get a scholarship, they're on a college campus the following fall,” he said.
Twin Falls officials plan to have multiple representatives from different fields to teach students about career opportunities. The Twin Falls Police Department along with Idaho Power and St. Luke's will speak and have workshops available to students interested in those fields.
“These are tomorrows leaders, these are people who are going to vote, that are going to make decisions and so if we empower these students with knowledge and training and skills then they can help us all solve problems that we don’t have answers to right now,” said Angela Miller, education outreach energy advisor with Idaho Power.
The event is on CSI's campus and starts at 8 a.m. Scholarships will be awarded at 2 p.m. on Sept. 27.
