Expanding from an all-female to a co-ed format, the Santa Monica College Latino Center is proud to announce that it will sponsor its 18th annual Youth Conference Saturday, March 31.

The free event--officially called the "Latina/o Youth Conference"--is currently accepting registrations.  "The number of young Latino males in higher education has dwindled," said Maria Martinez, SMC Latino Center program leader. "We have more young Latino men in prison than in college. We need to reach out to them."

The keynote speaker is Yvonne DeLaRosa, a film and television actress whose credits include such shows as "CSI: Miami, "Shark," "The Closer," "The King of Queens" and "Judging Amy."

The conference - which will be held from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.  - is open to Latino and Latina high school students. Slated for the day will be workshops, Career & College Expo, peer panel discussions, keynote speakers, food and entertainment.

At the expo, attendees will have the opportunity to speak to representatives from several colleges and universities - including UCLA, University of California at Santa Cruz, SMC and more - as well as to Latinos and Latinas in a wide variety of professions.

The conference attracts as many as 600 attendees each year.

For pre-registration and information, call (310) 434-8520 or visit us at www.smc.edu/latinayouthconference or LYC_Info@smc.edu
 

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