LAA Newsletter Summer 2015

LAA Newsletter
Summer 2015
Summer Youth Program Features Academics and Fun
More than 200 students participate in program that prepares Latinos to go to college
During the past school year, middle and high school students participating in the LAA’s youth program
attended after-school activities focused mostly on academics.
But in June, the 207 juveniles were in for more fun and
amusement as they took part in the youth program’s summer
session.
Students took science, math, English and Spanish classes to
take a brief look at what the upcoming school year holds. They
also got to create watercolors from scratch, learn Mexican
folkloric dances and paint self-portraits à-la Frida Kahlo.
The program prepares Latino middle and high school
students to graduate and go on to college.
They visited the High Museum of Art, where they toured the
exhibit commemorating the centennial of the iconic Coca-Cola bottle. They identified trees, and played
soccer and tennis. They learned to code and to take good photos with their smart phones.
Rising 10th and 11th graders toured the campuses of Kennesaw State University and Georgia College
in Milledgeville, learned words for the SAT and wrote college essays.
“Our summer program is very engaging and dynamic,” says Eliezer Vélez, who manages the LAA’s
Youth Programs. “Students get to see school in a different, more positive light. And they get to stay
busy, instead of watching TV or playing video games for hours.”
Students participating in the LAA’s year-round youth program are from Radloff Middle School and
Lilburn Middle School in Gwinnett County and from Sequoyah Middle School and Cross Keys High
School in DeKalb County.
The LAA program offers academic support, recreation, field trips, college readiness, career exploration
and other resources to prepare Latino youth to graduate from
high school and go on to college.
Students who are now rising 11th graders joined the program
when they were rising 6th graders.
Support our Youth Programs by making a donation today.
Fun activities and sports help keep students engaged during the summer.
LAA Newsletter
Summer 2015
Latinas’ Economic Program Continues to Grow
More than 80 students have completed entrepreneurship class
Over the past couple of months, some 85 participants have completed the LAA’s 20-hour course
designed for Latinas who want to open their own business.
Last week, a group of 10 participants finished the class, which included
lessons on how to raise capital, market products, balance the books
and understand markets and customer behavior, among other business
topics. Three new sessions of this popular class offered by the LAA’s
Latinas’ Economic Empowerment Program, ¡Avanzando Juntas!, will
start in August.
The 10 women who most recently graduated and presented their
business proposals to their classmates are on their way to making their
business dreams a reality.
Latinas are working together and sharing ideas
to make their dreams of opening their own
business a reality.
Marcela Cañal from Argentina, who has already printed her business cards in a teal blue, is starting
her own accounting and professional services firm, HAZ Taxes and Accounting, LLC. Adanely Cortez
from Mexico sells three used-car parts every day from her home. Vaxi López from El Salvador is selling
tons of pupusas, or stuffed corn cakes, so she can save money and open her own pupusería next
year. Florencia Zepeda from Mexico plans in a near future to sell her handcrafted clothes and jewelry,
including earrings featuring the likeness of Frida Kahlo, at a Latino mall.
“I have seen these women grow as individuals over the past few months,” says Maria Soledad Azuri,
who manages the Latinas’ Economic Empowerment Program and taught this class. “And I have also
seen them build a community and offer each other support, which is a major predictor of success
among immigrant women.”
Besides the business class, which met once a week, participants also attended more informal
gatherings at the LAA where they shared their business ideas, found support, networked and formed
business partnerships with each other.
The Latinas’ Economic Empowerment Program was founded in 2014 with a generous grant from
The Coca-Cola Foundation. Its goal is to promote the economic advancement of Latinas through
education, entrepreneurship, mentorship and support. The program features life skills development;
computer and financial literacy classes; business courses; mentorship; networking; and a microlending
fund.
New courses start in early August. For more information on upcoming classes and the mandatory
orientation, please contact Maria Soledad Azuri at 404.477.2571 or mazuri@thelaa.org
LAA Newsletter
Summer 2015
Valedictorian Seeks Donations to Attend Private College
Student came to LAA seeking help to apply for Deferred Action years ago
Weeks before graduating from high school, Marlon Portillo saw his college dreams vanish. The
19-year-old, who had a 3.9 GPA, had his sights set on UGA and Georgia Tech. But he didn’t know until
after he applied that because he was undocumented, he could not attend either school.
So Portillo, the 2015 valedictorian at Carver School of Health Sciences & Research in Atlanta, finds
himself this summer raising money so he can attend Fisk University, a historically black college in
Nashville. The university has given him $20,000 and he has set up a gofundme page to raise the
remaining $10,000.
“Growing up my parents told me that school was important so you can get ahead in life,” says Portillo,
who emigrated from El Salvador when he was 9. “I always thought
there would be some obstacles due to my immigration status, but
I never thought the hurdles would be so big. I thought I would be
eligible to attend UGA or Georgia Tech.”
Portillo currently has a work permit and driver’s license thanks
to a deportation deferral program known as Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA). LAA immigration attorneys helped him
apply for and renew his DACA.
Valedictorian Portillo always wanted to
go to college.
Portillo, who wants to study computer science, was admitted into
some out-of-state private schools, but he can’t afford them. He got
into Kennesaw State, but he would have to pay out-of-state tuition.
Things are looking up for Portillo, who was a dual enrollment student at Atlanta Metropolitan State
College. This summer, he is doing an internship in the Atlanta mayor’s office. And he is less than
$3,000 away from his fundraising goal.
“Things are great,” he says. “I’d given up for a while. I am looking forward to going to Fisk this fall.”
Help Portillo make his college dreams a reality by donating on gofundme.
LAA Newsletter
Summer 2015
Employers Find Bilingual Talent at LAA’s Career Expo
In 2014, Cindy Mancía came to the LAA’s Career Expo hoping to find a job in human resources.
Within a month, one of the employers she met, Diaz Foods, called her for an interview and, soon after,
she was working for the Hispanic food distributor.
This year, the HR coordinator came back to the Career Expo, which was
held on June 24 and attracted 400 bilingual job seekers. But this time,
Mancía was on the other side of the booth: screening and recruiting
potential employees for the Atlanta-based company.
“We have a lot of positions available right now in sales, warehouse and
business development, as well as for truck drivers,” Mancía said. “We
are here to hopefully fill these positions. A lot of our customers are
Hispanic businesses and we need bilingual employees.”
Mancía, left, and Williams were hired by Diaz
Foods at Career Expo.
Companies rave about the quality of bilingual candidates they find at
the LAA’s annual career fair. “This was the most valuable hiring event I
have ever participated in,” said Rick Dawsey, CEO of tool manufacturer ToolPro. He expected to hire at
least a couple of candidates from the expo for positions in bookkeeping and sales.
This year, 35 employers came to hire at the 33rd Annual Career Expo. Among them was staffing
agency Pro Staff, which in 2014 hired Colombian Luisa Restrepo as an HR assistant at the Career
Expo. This year, Restrepo came back to recruit for customer service, clerical and administrative
positions.
“I love helping people find employment,” she said.
Diaz Foods has a good track record of hiring at the Career Expo. Last year, the company hired 15 job
seekers. Katherine Williams, director of legal and insurance affairs at Diaz Foods, was manning the
booth alongside Mancía. Williams herself was hired at the Career Expo nine years ago as a buyer. She
found some solid candidates this year.
“I’m always impressed with the quality of the individuals,” Williams said. “You find everything from
people with a commercial driver’s license to those with a master’s degree in marketing.”
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