Hispanic students hear pitch for bright future

Summit's speakers tell true stories to motivate youths to stick with school

RALEIGH -- Motivational tools ranging from inspirational success stories to cautionary tales about death were used Friday at the Ninth Annual Hispanic Educational Summit to encourage students to stay in school.

Close to 700 Hispanic students from 35 North Carolina school districts came to the McKimmon Center at N.C. State University to get boosts of self-esteem and warnings about what could happen if they don't set their personal goals high enough.

"If I could do it, then you can, because you have more resources," said Guillermo Diaz Jr., vice president of information technology for Cisco Systems and a keynote speaker at the summit. "You have more opportunities."

The N.C. Society of Hispanic Professionals began holding the summits in 2000 to encourage Hispanic students to pursue higher education. The challenge is still great. Only 53.7 percent of Hispanic students in North Carolina graduate from high school in four years, the lowest percentage of any ethnic group.

The summit featured more than two dozen presentations on topics such as applying for college, planning for a career, sexual abstinence and tobacco use.

About 100 people heard Danya Perry warn about how all the other members of his former gang are dead or in jail. He told of how a former gang member he was mentoring was set up to be murdered by that group.

"Don't buy the hype about the lifestyle," said Perry, who is a field services specialist for Communities in Schools of North Carolina.

Perry's message hit home with Daniela Valadez, 14, an eighth-grader at Selma Middle School. She said there are gangs at her Johnston County school, but she steers clear of them.

"It was good," Daniela said. "He had a lot of interesting things to tell us."

Javier Perez, 16, a student at Orange High School, was more interested in the exhibitors. He particularly gravitated toward the representatives from universities and science groups.

"A lot of the things that interest me are here," Javier said. "I'm interested in technology and medicine, where I can help people."

Some students conceded that they attended for less lofty reasons.

"I didn't want to be in school today," said Andy Murillo, 17, a junior at East Bladen High School.

But Marco Zarate, president of the N.C. Society of Hispanic Professionals, said schools are telling him students have returned from the summits with more motivation to do well. He said the dropout rate for the state's Hispanic students is improving.

"We are seeing progress," Zarate said. "Still there is a lot of work that needs to be done."