2013 AHORA
Student Days
LATINO Magazine recently presented AHORA Student Days in Detroit, El Paso and Houston. These events brought together local high school students to meet outstanding role models from corporate America, the Federal government, U.S. Armed Forces and other careers. Each AHORA Student Day consisted of an interactive panel in which students could ask questions of the speakers and learn about career opportunites in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
In Detroit, the AHORA Student Day took place at the Detroit Insitute of Art, home of the famous mural painted by Mexican artist Diego Rivera. The keynote speaklers were Lawrence Romo, appointed by Presiden
t Obama as the 12th director of the Selective Service System after a distinguished career in public service and the U.S. Air Force; and entrepreneur David Segura, the CEO and founder of VisionIT, an IT services, staffing and vendor management firm based in Detroit. Panelists included Mauricio Pincheira, the Paint Area Manager of the GM Orion Assembly Plant in Lake Orion, Michigan and the president of the Detroit chapter of SHPE; Lt. Adrian Palomeque of the Coast Guard; Julieta Garibay of United We Dream; and Kenneth Gutierrez, Delphi Global Indirect/M&E Cost Improvement Leader.
“Get that degree,” Gutierrez encouraged the students in his remarks. “Without that degree, your options will be limited. It will open the doors to so many things.”
The AHORA Student Day in El Paso took place on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Students heard from Noel Candelaria, VP of the Texas State Teachers Association (TXTSA), as well as Raymond Palacios, the owner of Bravo Autos and past president of the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans. The panelists included Alicia Rascon, the founder of Latinitas, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering Latina youth through media and technology; Sofia Monarrez, a senior at UTEP and an intern at AT&T; and Ruben Estrada, Director, Global Supply Management at Delphi.
A native of El Paso and a graduate of UTEP, Estrada began his career in 1992 with GM and sits on the board of the El Paso HIspanic Chamber of Commerce. In his remarks, he recommended that students look to the future and study engineering: “The journey to where you want to be in 10 or 15 years has begun. Engineering degrees provide discipline and a good foundation for any career. "
Monarrez first attended El Paso Community College and transferred to UTEP as she became in
terested in mathematics. In addition to her studies, she works as a part time technical intern at AT&T. She stressed the importance of internships in acquiring valuable skills: “Get an internship. You’ll get great experience.”
In Houston, the event took place in Duncan Hall at Rice University. Students from Cesar Chavez, Sanchez and Davis high schools listened to a fascinating lecture by eminent mathematician Dr. Richard Tapia, who described a real world mathematics problem taken from the world of BMX bicycle racing. Panelists included Diego Rodriguez, the Manager for Internships, Fellowships and Scholarships, Space Grant at the Texas Community College Aerospace Scholars program at NASA; Maria Meza-Lopez, a doctoral student in the Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice; and Yvonne Trejo, a Reservoir Engineer for Marathon Oil Company’s Eagle Ford asset in south Te
xas. Also representing Marathon were Kathy Sauve, Manager, Corporate communications and Philanthropy; and Susan Baber, Talent Acquisition Manager.
A native Houstonian, Trejo is a graduate of the Unversity of Houston and first joined Marathon as a production engineer intern in 2004. Sjhe gave very specific advice to students: “Apply to three colleges,” and encouraged them to seek out financial aid: “People want to help you go to college and succeed. Just get in the door!”
Many thanks to Marathon, AT&T, Selective Service System, ExxonMobil, GM, Coast Guard, NASA, Delphi, UTEP, Rice, TXTSA, the participating schools and students, the panelists and speakers, and all our other friends and partners for making these AHORA Student Days a success. ¡Gracias!
t Obama as the 12th director of the Selective Service System after a distinguished career in public service and the U.S. Air Force; and entrepreneur David Segura, the CEO and founder of VisionIT, an IT services, staffing and vendor management firm based in Detroit. Panelists included Mauricio Pincheira, the Paint Area Manager of the GM Orion Assembly Plant in Lake Orion, Michigan and the president of the Detroit chapter of SHPE; Lt. Adrian Palomeque of the Coast Guard; Julieta Garibay of United We Dream; and Kenneth Gutierrez, Delphi Global Indirect/M&E Cost Improvement Leader.
“Get that degree,” Gutierrez encouraged the students in his remarks. “Without that degree, your options will be limited. It will open the doors to so many things.”
The AHORA Student Day in El Paso took place on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Students heard from Noel Candelaria, VP of the Texas State Teachers Association (TXTSA), as well as Raymond Palacios, the owner of Bravo Autos and past president of the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans. The panelists included Alicia Rascon, the founder of Latinitas, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering Latina youth through media and technology; Sofia Monarrez, a senior at UTEP and an intern at AT&T; and Ruben Estrada, Director, Global Supply Management at Delphi.
A native of El Paso and a graduate of UTEP, Estrada began his career in 1992 with GM and sits on the board of the El Paso HIspanic Chamber of Commerce. In his remarks, he recommended that students look to the future and study engineering: “The journey to where you want to be in 10 or 15 years has begun. Engineering degrees provide discipline and a good foundation for any career. "
Monarrez first attended El Paso Community College and transferred to UTEP as she became interested in mathematics. In addition to her studies, she works as a part time technical intern at AT&T. She stressed the importance of internships in acquiring valuable skills: “Get an internship. You’ll get great experience.”
In Houston, the event took place in Duncan Hall at Rice University. Students from Cesar Chavez, Sanchez and Davis high schools listened to a fascinating lecture by eminent mathematician Dr. Richard Tapia, who described a real world mathematics problem taken from the world of BMX bicycle racing. Panelists included Diego Rodriguez, the Manager for Internships, Fellowships and Scholarships, Space Grant at the Texas Community College Aerospace Scholars program at NASA; Maria Meza-Lopez, a doctoral student in the Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice; and Yvonne Trejo, a Reservoir Engineer for Marathon Oil Company’s Eagle Ford asset in south Texas. Also representing Marathon were Kathy Sauve, Manager, Corporate communications and Philanthropy; and Susan Baber, Talent Acquisition Manager.
A native Houstonian, Trejo is a graduate of the Unversity of Houston and first joined Marathon as a production engineer intern in 2004. Sjhe gave very specific advice to students: “Apply to three colleges,” and encouraged them to seek out financial aid: “People want to help you go to college and succeed. Just get in the door!”
Many thanks to Marathon, AT&T, Selective Service System, ExxonMobil, GM, Coast Guard, NASA, Delphi, UTEP, Rice, TXTSA, the participating schools and students, the panelists and speakers, and all our other friends and partners for making these AHORA Student Days a success. ¡Gracias!