HWNT FW 2009 Latinas In Progress: College 101
Dear HWNT Members and Friends,
I am so delighted to inform you that the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, Fort Worth Chapter, Latinas in Progress (LIP) Education Series had its first session, College 101 this past Saturday October 3rd at UTA. I wanted to share with you the success of LIP College 101 Module and congratulate the many individuals who made it happen!
First of all, Admissions Counselor, Adam Pitts and Vice President of UTA, Dr. Frank Lamas did a wonderful job hosting us and accommodating all our students, parents and volunteers. Many thanks for providing not only the facility but for graciously speaking to our students about the opportunities at UTA and the importance of pursuing higher education. Did I mention that they also provided breakfast, an all you can eat lunch at the Connections Café, and an afternoon snack! WOW!
Additionally, thanks to Dr. Catalina Garcia for the great delivery of her “I measure up!” presentation. As always, she inspired many students, volunteers, and members. We greatly appreciate her words of encouragement!
A special thanks to our very own Dr. Tangie Cuascud Vega for sharing her life story and speaking to the students about how to overcome the challenges and adversity they may encounter on their way to college and journey towards success. Thanks to her Telemundo interviewed 2 Latinas In Progress students on how Dr. Tangie impacted their lives. Stay tuned for her segment as a Hispana Heroina!
Another special thanks to our very own Susie Soto-Olmos and Belinda Ramos from TCCD Northwest Campus for addressing the importance of financial aid and for guiding our students through the FAFSA/TAFSA process. Also, we are so grateful that Charim Guadarrama, FWISD Student Engagement & Completion, addressed Senate Bill 1528 and the DREAM Act. Many of our students had great questions and they benefited from learning about their options.
Furthermore, thanks to Dr. Danna Diaz and FWISD Student Engagement and Completion for extending their resources. Not only did we have great volunteers, we were also able to have a professional translator and translating devices for our Spanish speaking parents! This has been the most high tech session we’ve ever had! Thanks also to Erica Marez for the icebreaker activity for our students, what a great way to get the session going so early in the morning!
I’d also like to thank our members who were present, Christina Elbitar, Judy Perez, Diane Salazar, Diana Pitman, and Anna Alvarado. They all contributed to the success of College 101!
Lastly, I hope that you can join me in congratulating two of our newly appointed LIP Interns, Maria Alonso, senior Trimble Tech HS, and Daisy Castro, senior, Northside HS. These returning LIP students did a wonderful job on their first day of the internship! What a great way to enhance their resume and to give back to HWNT. We are so proud of you guys!
I hope that you can join us at our next session, Latinas in Power Module at UNT on November 14th (more details to follow soon). We are still accepting Madrinas so if you would like to make a difference in a young Latina’s life I encourage each of you to step up and be a mentor! It’s extremely rewarding!
Till next time,
Victoria Ruiz
Education Chair
HWNT - Fort Worth Chapter
Mobile: 817.913.8819