NMSU presents Latino career symposium
STEM joint program encourages career paths
LAS CRUCES - At age 16, Diego Langevin says he has time to consider career and college options as far as a career path.
On a recent Wednesday, Langevin was among 150 students from three high schools in the Gadsden Independent School District who spent a day on the New Mexico State University campus for a symposium on careers in science and technology. NMSU is a designated Hispanicserving institution.
STEM — the acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics — was the direction he said held the most promise. “That’s where we’re heading. Machines are here to stay, computers are here to stay,” he said.
At the “Latinos on Fast Track” STEM symposium, a joint program of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and the U.S. Army, students were presented with personal stories and information about career paths in rapidly developing technological fields.
“Technology is the fastest-growing industry in the country,” the foundation’s innovation and tech manager, Alberto Avalos, said during a lunch break on Wednesday. “It intersects with any type of industry, from health care to finance.”
For the past 15 years, “Latinos on Fast Track” has presented programs encouraging Latino and Latina youth to plan ahead for success in diverse career fields. From the foundation’s standpoint, Avalos said alerting young people to these possibilities and steering them toward mentors is essential to make sure the Latino community participates in society not only as consumers, but creators.
Encouraging female representation in research and tech as well, two of the four speakers addressing students during the afternoon session were women, including Rosa Bañuelos, who grew up in Hatch and now works for Spaceport America.