Latino professionals to encourage students to pursue their dreams

Monterey High School will host dozens of Latino professionals who will be interacting with students. The event is called “Latinx” and it is happening on the Monterey Peninsula for the first time on Saturday morning.

Organizers say it’s a way for students to see and talk to professional that hold careers they might be interested in, but also it’s a way to close the opportunity gap that often hurts students based on their ethnicity.

“I look forward to seeing lots of people that have very successful careers and could teach me how they got there. Especially coming from a Latin background,” said Angelica Cornejo, a Monterey High School Sophomore.

Latino professionals will be speaking to students to encourage them to pursue the career of their choice.

“I hope to take away how these people overcome cultural barriers and how they got to where they are now,” said Jessica Cornejo, a Monterey High School Sophomore.

The speakers come from a wide range of career fields including government health, law, agriculture and even sports. The program is also a part of the school’s pursuit of becoming an international baccalaureate school.

“We thought what better way to have international perspective than to actually bring in people from the community to guide our students in hands on learning,” said Monterey High School teacher and event organizer, Kaitlin Plunkett-Franklin.

Organizers say the event will help students gain a better understanding of what it takes to work in the career they choose.

“It’s all about bringing real-life into the classroom and making it pertinent and relevant,” said Monterey High School Spanish teacher and event organizer, Gerardo Chavez.

The hope is also that this program will help students overcome any cultural barriers.

“Research shows when students see people who look like them in professions and they see their teachers who look like them it inspires something and so we want to make sure all students feel like they have someone to connect to,” said Plunkett-Franklin.

The speakers have backgrounds from all over the world including Chile, Cuba, Peru, Spain and Mexico just to name a few, but organizers made it clear that the event is designed for all students.

“So the bottom line is that opportunity of listening to professionals is for all kids who want to prepare now for their future,” said Chavez.