Padres e Hijos Fin de Semana
Seniors and Parents UGA Weekend
Applications

The Padres e Hijos Fin de Semana brings exceptional high school seniors and their parents to the University of Georgia for an English/Spanish bilingual educational forum especially designed to welcome and encourage potential UGA applicants and their families. Current Latino UGA students, parents, administrators, faculty, and alumni welcome the visitors and share their experiences. English/Spanish bilingual ambassador-hosts are available throughout the event.

Participants and their parents spend two days on the beautiful University of Georgia campus in Athens. Activities include a welcoming reception, lodging in the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center & Hotel, meals, speakers from UGA's Latino community, informational sessions, conversations with academic and admissions representatives, campus tour with bilingual guides, information about financial aid, and an opportunity to fill out the early admission application for UGA. There is no cost to participants or their parents.

Padres e Hijos is a joint effort of the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach and the Georgia Center.

Who Can Apply?

Exceptional high school students who

1) will enter their senior year in the upcoming fall semester,
2) have a high probability of qualifying for and being accepted into UGA, and
3) ) demonstrate a strong interest and involvement in Latino issues and the local Latino culture.

Participants will be selected through a competitive application process that reviews academic performance, including rigor of coursework, grade point average, SAT or ACT score, school or community leadership, involvement in the Latino community, and likelihood to apply for and be admitted to UGA.

The fall 2008 event will be held September 19-20, 2008.

For Padres e Hijos information, contact Sarah Stack at sestack.uga.edu 706-542-7887, or Milly Legra at mlegra@uga.edu.

History

The first Padres e Hijos Fin de Semana was held on September 8-9, 2006. Twenty-one top high-school seniors were selected for their outstanding academic achievements and leadership. Participants represented Clayton, Cobb, Forsyth, Fulton, Gilmer, Gwinnett, Oconee and Rockdale Counties.

The 2007 Padres e Hijos Fin de Semana was held October 5-6, 2007. Students represented Cobb, Dougherty, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Hall, DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Oconee Counties, and one county in North Carolina.

The students and their parents were joined by Latino/a UGA students, UGA faculty and staff, and members of the Latino Advisory Council. Featured speakers included UGA Latino Initiative Director Maritza Soto-Keen; UGA Alumnus Frank Ros; Provost Arnett Mace; and Dr. Art Dunning, Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.

¡Sígueme! Latino Shadow Day

¡Sígueme! encourages high school students to pursue higher education by introducing them to Latino/a role models actively involved in obtaining university degrees.

The event brings high-school juniors and seniors to the University of Georgia campus to shadow Latino/a UGA students who share their academic interests. ¡Sígueme! includes visits to university classes, admissions information, lunch in a University dining hall, a walking tour of the campus, a visit to a campus residential community, and plenty of time to ask questions and exchange ideas.

History

¡Sígueme! was conceived by UGA students Beatriz Velez and Desiree Smith, founders of the UGA student service organization Students for Latino/a Empowerment (SLE). The inaugural event was held on November 18, 2005, with thirty students from Clarke County attending. It was financed by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach and coordinated by Christine Burgoyne of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. Burgoyne and Sharon Gibson, an extension educator with the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, were faculty sponsors.

The 2006 event was held November 17, 2006, and included 45 high-students from Clarke, Floyd and Hall Counties and 45 UGA students representing 26 majors. It was jointly funded by the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. Sígueme 2007 was held on November 13, 2007, for 80 students from Clarke Central HS, Cedar Shoals HS, Gainesville HS and Duluth HS.

For ¡Sígueme! information, contact contact Students for Latino/a Empowerment, 210 Memorial Hall, UGA, Athens, GA 30602 or email SLE-MESA@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU or Sarah Stack at sestack@uga.edu

¡Sí Se Puede! SLE Latino Issues Youth Conference

The University of Georgia's Annual Students for Latino Empowerment Youth Conference for middle and high-school students includes keynote and motivational speakers, workshops, concurrent sessions, panels, and a resource fair. Topics include cultural, sociological, and current affairs pertaining to Latino/a youth, as well as workshops on college options, admissions requirements, and financial aid opportunities.

Latino organizations from all corners of the University of Georgia campus are involved in this full-day conference. Spearheading the planning committee are the officers and members of Students for Latino/a Empowerment.

History

The first ¡Sí Se Puede! conference took place April 1, 2006 at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.

The 81 participants represented Colquitt County, Cedar Shoals, Clarke Central, and Northwest Whitfield High Schools; along with Burney-Harris-Lyons and Coile Middle Schools. Representatives from Kennesaw State University, UGA, Gainesville State College, Georgia Perimeter College, and Clayton State University also participated. Faculty sponsors were Stephanie Bohon of the Department of Sociology, Paul Duncan of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute (LACSI), and Christine Burgoyne of the Georgia Center.

The 2006 conference was funded by a combination of a Scholarship of Engagement Grants for University Engagement (SEGUE) grant and Steps to College Youth Recruitment funds from the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, and a contribution from LACSI.

The 2007 ¡Sí Se Puede! Latino Issues Youth Conference was held March 31, 2007, at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and served 83 students from 6 schools.

The 2008 event is scheduled for March 29, 2008 on the University of Georgia campus.

For ¡Sí Se Puede! information, contact Hilda Hermosillo at hildahc@uga.edu or email SLE-MESA@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU.