Five students in the Skyline College Women’s Mentoring and Leadership Academy (WMLA) were invited by Vice President of Student Services, Dr. Angelica Garcia, to attend the 30th anniversary of the Latina Leadership Network (LLN) conference that was held at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, California on April 6-8, 2017. It was the first time that the five students, Yuffita Palacios, Jennifer Munos, Jane Arias, Kalia Chavez, and Martha Torres, were able to attend the LLN conference. LLN works to bring Latina women together in the state of California to help promote and encourage hard-working and underrepresented Latina women in higher education. The theme for this year’s conference was “Latinas: Building a Legacy and Advancing Leadership in Higher Education.”
Throughout the conference, the women attended workshops led by educators from across the state. Through these workshops, the women were empowered to believe in themselves and to strive to reach their academic and personal goals. They learned that despite what statistics say and the circumstances that may rise in a Latina’s life, such as being an immigrant, a woman and/or a first-generation student, they can achieve their goals and reach their fullest potential through dedication and with support from their Latina sisters. The conference also provided an opportunity for the women to network with other Latina students and leaders from across the state.
“Having the opportunity to go to the LLN conference and seeing all the beautiful and strong Latinas around me gave me hope of the great things I can do in both my professional and personal life,” stated Jennifer Munos.
The five students of WMLA who attended the conference would like to thank Dr. Angelica Garcia, Ms. Jessica Lopez, who was the chaperone for the conference, and the coordinator of WMLA, Professor Danielle Powell for the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and to network with other powerful Latinas in California.
Article and Photo by Jane Arias
