The 8th annual Latina Connection Conference will be held on Wednesday to help unify the Latina community at Cal State Long Beach.
Rosa Moreno-Alcaraz, a psychologist at CSULB Counseling and Psychological Services, Rosa Carrillo, a CSULB volunteer, and a few Latina students started the conference in fall 2001.
“One of the main purposes for this conference is for Latina students to know that they are important in this campus,” Moreno-Alcaraz said.
The conference was designed for students to take personal responsibility for their education, while at the same time promoting self-awareness. The founders also wanted to bring Latina students from CSULB closer together as a family and focus on their academic studies and help connect with faculty and staff.
According to the conference website, the founders hope to improve retention among Latina students.
Throughout the conference, women hold discussions in small groups to be able to get to know one another and feel comfortable during the group discussion.
There will also be a wall tree, where women will be able to write their goals on a leaf. This is meant to help them build a stronger self-awareness. There will also be book scholarship raffles, and a free breakfast and lunch at the conference, according to the CSULB website.
Nancy Limon, a junior Chicano/Latino studies and criminal justice major, attended the conference last year and said that she saw many others in situations similar to hers.
“The conference was a great place of networking,” Limon said. “Seeing everyone in the same room made it seem [to be] a powerful message.”
Hermanas Unidas de Long Beach will volunteer and help out throughout the conference. Hermanas Unidas is an organization on campus that reaches out to Latinas helping them in their academics, while socializing them with other organizations on campus and the community.
Veronica Ventura, a senior journalism and communications major at CSULB, has attended the Latina Conference for the past three years.
Ventura said that she “felt welcomed and a part of campus.”
“Every year that I go to the conference I gain something new,” said Ventura.
Xitlali Rodriguez, a freshman political science major, will be attending the conference for the first time. She said she would like to gain knowledge about what she is going to do in college and get as much help as possible.
The conference will be held March 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the University Student Union Ballrooms.
There are a limited number of seats available — reservations can be made at http://csulb.edu/latinaconference.
i love karla!
I think that the Annual Latina Conference is a great tool to create a sense of belonging for Latina students who may be struggling as first generation university students. However, I wonder if similar type of conferences, that focus on Latina issues, are available for incoming high school Latina seniors who have been admitted to the university. I believe these conferences should be available for Latina incoming, current, and alumni students.
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