University of Idaho students will have the chance to develop leadership skills and promote unity among Latino students at the first annual Northwest Hispanic Student Leadership Conference in Boise from Oct. 17-18.
“Students learn about the ability to be leaders in and out of the community,” said Christina Veloz, interim director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

The conference will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Boise-Riverside in Boise.
The United States Hispanic Leadership Institute holds several regional conferences across the United States in addition to the national conference and has chosen Idaho for the first Northwest Regional Conference.
Veloz said the conference will empower Latino students as individuals and as a group to make change. Latino students represent the largest multicultural group on the UI campus.

“It’s important for the students to be able to hook-up nationally and work on issues that affect the nation, not just Idaho,” said Leathia Botello, Multicultural Program Coordinator for OMA.
The focus of the Northwest Hispanic Student Leadership Conference is on the Latino experience but non-Latino students are encouraged to get involved.

“The conference is not just for Latino students, but for any student who is interested in Latino issues,” Veloz said. “It’s important to not just get Latino students to attend.”

The conference’s goal is to promote the importance of the Latino demographic vote.  Veloz said the goals fits well with the OMA’s ultimate goal, to promote retention and provide assistance to multicultural students.
“We get students to feel empowered and promote working with all students,” Veloz said.

The OMA can only provide transportation for eight people by van, but it will help set up transportation for anyone who wishes to attend. OMA will pay for all registration of any student who wishes to attend the conference and lodging.
“We have 10 signed up so far, but we expect more,” Veloz said.
Botello said while the focus will be on providing students with an opportunity for leadership, additional focus will be on Latinos in the media and cultural issues, such as gangs, teen pregnancy and the drop-out rate.

“The goal is to arm them with information to go out and help their communities,” Botello said.
There will be students representing colleges and universities from Montana, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming attending the conference.
“It’s a great opportunity for students to network,” Veloz said.
Registration and van travel arrangements must be confirmed by Monday.To register and sign up for van transportation and lodging, contact Christina Veloz in the OMA office  (TLC 230) at 885-7716 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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