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UT’s Latino
Youth Summit features Carlos Ojeda on May 7
Motivational speaker Carlos Ojeda Jr. is scheduled to give
the keynote address at the annual University of Toledo Latino
Youth Summit on Wednesday, May 7, 2008, from 8 a.m.
to
2 p.m.
in the Student Union on UT’s Main Campus.
In his speeches, Ojeda urges students to actively live each day of
their lives and make a lasting and positive impact as they
interact with the world.
Designed to reinforce the importance of education for Latino
students in grades 7 through 12, the summit offers workshops
highlighting careers and principles in education, business,
engineering, science and medicine. |
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“This is an opportunity to get students on a college campus and
introduce them to the idea of education beyond high school,” said
Cecilia Rivera, events coordinator at
UT and a member of the committee
coordinating the event.
“Many students may never have had a relative who went to college
or may think they can’t go because of financial reasons. We want
to make sure students know that with drive and initiative, people
who grew up under similar circumstances were able to transition to
higher education and that they can, too,” Rivera concluded.
According to Rivera, many of those who volunteer to assist in
putting on the summit attended it when they were younger and now
go to a community college or university. UT faculty and staff also
assist in various aspects of planning the summit and individual
education workshops.
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According to Ojeda’s Web site (www.carlosojedajr.com),
“he has
been called one of the most dynamic speakers under thirty….today
and the remarkable journey of his life began in the streets of
Newark, New Jersey and later to Reading, Pennsylvania where his
immigrant parents saw opportunities for themselves and for their
first generation Puerto Rican children.
“Growing up
proved to be a difficult task, particularly school. Not
understanding his social, economical and cultural background, many
of his high school teachers told him he would never amount to
anything. One teacher once called him, ‘the greatest piece of
garbage he had ever seen.’
“Yet his
drive, passion and dreams led him to overcome those obstacles and
pursue a career of life learning and educational success, being
the first person in his family to graduate from college with
honors. His experiences have led him to always remind Latino youth
to, “never….let anyone tell you who you are or what you will
become. That’s your destiny to fulfill, no one else’s.”
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More than 700 students from northwest Ohio and
southeast Michigan are expected to
attend.
For more information, contact Sabina Elizondo-Serratos, Director
of the Office of Latino Initiatives, at
419.530.2992.
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