Hispanic youth to discuss leadership at camp

Beginning July 21, 50 Latino students from about two dozen northwest Indiana high schools will live on the IU-Bloomington campus and attend workshops at the state’s third annual Hispanic Youth Leadership Academy.

The academy is a program of the Hispanic Organization Promoting Excellence, founded by Lake County Indiana Sheriff Roy Dominguez.

The academy’s executive director is Jose Arredondo, who created the Hispanic Youth Leadership Academy, according to an IU press release.

Guidance counselors preselected high school students from Lake and Porter counties for the summer leadership program, which is free for all students who meet the academy’s requirements.

Accepted students must have recently completed their junior year of high school, have a minimum 2.5 GPA and at least one parent who is Hispanic. Each student also submits an essay titled “What Leadership Means to Me.”

Programs like this one are essential for Indiana’s burgeoning Latino population, said Arredondo, who is also an assistant professor of education at Valparaiso University.

“For the past two decades, Hispanics have had the highest high school dropout rate of any ethnic group anywhere in the country. Only one in five who go to college finish,” he said in a statement. “The demographic increase won’t do any good if we don’t teach leadership skills and offer guidance.”

Workshop topics are based on a motivational book and include “Be Proactive,” “Begin with the End in Mind” and “Think Win-Win,” as well as more IU-focused sessions such as “Get to Know IU,” in which students learn about the history of IU-Bloomington and take part in an “amazing race” across campus, according to a press release.

“Each session will be hosted by a different person, so kids will be exposed to a variety of different folks,” said Lillian Casillas, director of La Casa Latino Cultural Center at IU, in a statement. “They’ll get a chance to talk to some Latino faculty and some IU students, and also acquire some very specific skill sets.”

Participants will learn about different styles of group leadership, effective conflict resolution and mediation skills, stress and life management skills, and the role of ethics in decision-making.

Speakers and session leaders include Casillas, IU student volunteers, Arredondo and David Cordova, the former vice president and general manager of Telemundo-Chicago and current president of David Cordova and Associates LLC, a PR company, among others.

“This is a great opportunity for us. These are really top-of-the-line kids,” Casillas said in a statement.

The inaugural academy took place at Valparaiso University in 2007, and last year it was at Purdue University. This is the first year that the program is located at IU-Bloomington.

The Bloomington Hispanic Youth Leadership Academy is sponsored by La Casa, IU Office of Admissions, IU Latino Alumni Association, and others, according to a press release.

Arredondo said he thinks this is only the beginning.

“My ambition in life is to eventually bring in 200 kids from all over the state for a weeklong Leadership Academy,” he said.