The College Hispanic American Students gathered at Hughes-Trigg on Sunday to welcome local high school and college students for the annual Hispanic Issues Forum.
For the past 24 years, CHAS has held HIF in order to engage Hispanic youth in discussing current issues that affect the Hispanic community. This year’s theme, “Marcando Nuestro Paso,” recognized the accomplishments the Hispanic community has made in the United States and was a celebration of future change and opportunities.
HIF Chair Cynthia Calvillo said the event “gets high school and college students involved and aware with current Hispanic issues at a local and national level.
“We also hope to evoke leadership and to bring awareness of current and future issues at HIF,” she said.
The event consisted of seven topics, ranging from the reggaeton movement to the examination of Hispanic migration. The keynote topic was “U.S. in 2050 – What Does the Future hold for Hispanics?” and was discussed by Rene Martinez, SMU alumni and current executive director of Dropout Prevention and Youth Mentoring for the DISD.
HIF also awarded State Representative Rafael Anchia with the “Vamos Adelante” award.
CHAS President Elizabeth Rubalcava said this award’s purpose is to “recognize hispanic SMU alumni who have created change and influenced others to move forward.”
Anchia responded to the award by challenging the 40-some students who attended.
“I walk on the shoulders of those who came before me, and I ask that you think of what you’re going to do to with your life and what change you will bring to the community,” he said.
Similarly, during the “College Life As a Hispanic” session, senior Raul Magdalena, a corporate communications major, talked about the importance of getting involved and taking advantage of any college education.
“What education does is it positions you and gives you a platform for communication and new opportunities,” Magdalena said. “And you shouldn’t let where you live determine who you are or who you want to be,” he said.
Magaly Garcia and Brisa Miranda, seniors from Nimitz High School in Irving, said they initially came to find out more about SMU and the admission process. “I am still trying to find the right place to go to school and I thought this conference might help me,” Miranda said.
Garcia said what she most enjoyed at the conference was the session discussing unity and competition among Hispanics. “Today I really understood the meaning of being Hispanic and I learned about trying to unify and get together with other Hispanics instead of competing against one another,” she said.
According to Fernando Salazar, coordinator of Hispanic Student Services, the event was successful in attracting local students and engaging the audience.
“CHAS is trying to bring HIF back to life,” Salazar said. “And out of my five years here at SMU, this is the best HIF that I have seen,” he said.
