Latino students in Arlington explore careers - The Washington Post: atino students from across Arlington County got to glimpse potential future careers at a leadership conference Friday at George Mason University.
About 200 students spent the day on the college campus and met with Latino professionals to hear how they pursued their educations and jobs.
“Bienvenidos a todos,” said George Mason president Angel Carbrera, a native of Spain, in a keynote address.
He encouraged the Arlington students to think without limits about their futures and to improve their chances of getting a good job by pursuing higher education.
He also told them what an advantage they have in an increasingly diverse country to be bicultural and bilingual.
The 21st annual leadership conference was coordinated by the Latin American Student Congress, representing students from all three Arlington high schools.
The event was conducted in Spanish (though some speakers opted for “Spanglish”), offering students a rare chance to communicate in their native tongue at school, said Francesca Reilly-McDonnell, a co-founder of the conference who oversees programs for English language learners.
She said the goal is to “honor their culture and language” and to help students feel comfortable.
