To prove that all things are possible for immigrant students, Walt Whitman High School hosted the Hispanic Men’s Leaders Conference for the first time before Spring Break.
The high school’s male 9th and 10th grade immigrant students were invited to the interactive event with presentations, discussion, and activities focused on their unique challenges. The purpose of the conference is to get to these students early in their high school years to provide them with the inspiration, support and tools they need to continue on a path towards graduation and go on to attend college.
Walt Whitman High School has an enrollment of 2,123 students with 50% of that population being Hispanic students. Of that Hispanic student population, nearly 40% are classified as ENL or immigrant students.
“If you look at our dropout rates, a lot of them are our immigrant students because they have to deal with so many issues. If we can inspire them early to understand that it's worth working hard here, because you can go to college and establish a career, then we've done our job,” said Assistant Principal Scott Muller.
The conference does that by inviting Hispanic men who have been successful in all walks of life, to share their experiences with the students in the hopes of inspiring those intending to continue on the educational path laid before them. All of the speakers were bilingual, and the entire conference was conducted in Spanish. Speakers included proven leaders in the fields of government, law, education, politics, religion, entrepreneurship, and specialized trades. This year’s keynote speaker was Suffolk County Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho.
A similar Women Leaders Conference was held earlier this year. Organizers hold separate conferences for young Latino men and women because they say there are different issues in terms of the kind of impediments and obstacles that immigrant boys and girls face, and there is a need to address them more directly.
Students were engaged in the day long conference that included discussion with guest speakers and experience working in Naviance to search for college and career choices.
This year’s keynote speaker was Suffolk County Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho, who provided inspiring words for Whitman's young men.
(left to right) WWHS Alumn Roberto Vasquez Aparicio, Xavier Palacios, Frederico de Oliveira, and Pastor Daniel Rivera attended this first time conference as guest speakers.