Calvin Ready for Aspirando Alto

September 29, 2006 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Calvin College will hold Aspirando Alto, its second-annual conference for
Latino high school students and their families from Thursday, October 12
through Saturday, October 14.

Some 60 West Michigan seventh to tenth grade students will attend Aspirando
Alto, Spanish for "aspiring high," an event funded by a $5,000 grant from
JPMorgan Chase and aimed at improving college access for Latino students.

"This conference provides an opportunity for the college to walk alongside
Latino parents and students as they explore college entrance processes and
academic needs and interests," says Rhae-Ann Booker, Calvin's director of
pre-college programs.

The students, who attend from Burton Middle School, Creston High School and
Potters House Middle and High School, must be nominated by their school
counselors to attend. They will represent a range of academic achievement: both
high achievers and those who might be spurred on to higher achievement through
participating in the conference.

"The goal of Aspirando Alto is to encourage Latino students to finish high
school and move on to higher education, and I'm passionate about that," says
Vanessa Acosta, 22, a Calvin education major originally from Cuba who is
coordinating the conference.

The conference begins at 5 p.m. on October 12 when students move into the
Calvin residence halls, eat dinner together and have devotions. Following that
is a wide variety of informative activities. On Saturday, the students will be
joined by their parents, who will attend a financial aid workshop and a college
Q&A panel. The conference will close with a luncheon, where the students will
make presentations about what they've learned over the weekend.

Booker says the family presence at Aspirando Alto is crucial to the
conference. "Parents are critical to the academic success of their children,"
says Booker. "We must walk alongside them, not work around them."
 
For the full story see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2006-07/aspirando-alto.htm
Contact Booker at rbooker@calvin.edu or 616-526-6748

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Received on Fri Sep 29 11:16:39 2006