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 WCU Stories      April 11, 2019

This time a year ago, Ricardo Nazario-Col贸n, 甜瓜视频app鈥檚 chief diversity officer, and his graduate assistant, Kevin Trudell, took 10 WCU students to the 28th annual National Latino Collegiate Conference at the University of Albany.

As they were returning to Cullowhee, traveling on I-81 south in the middle of the night, someone blurted out, 鈥淲e need to have our own conference.鈥� The van erupted into cheers. For the rest of the ride, the students began brainstorming and dishing out assignments.

Fast-forward a year later, and those conversations are about to come to fruition. WCU will host the inaugural April 12-14 at the A.K. Hinds University Center. The conference, believed to be the first of its kind in the region, is presented by WCU鈥檚 Latino Appreciation Student Organization with support from the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Programs.

The goal of the conference is to develop a student identity for the Latinx community, empowering them to own their experience in college, to claim their space, to claim their universities as part of the experience and to feel like they belong, Nazario-Col贸n said.

鈥淪tudents created this,鈥� Nazario-Col贸n quickly points out. 鈥淚t is their idea, their desire to have something that speaks to them. That鈥檚 important to empower our future alums. I鈥檓 really excited that they saw this gap and wanted to fill it up.鈥�

Nazario-Col贸n served as the group鈥檚 adviser, but it was the students who took the reins, led by senior Jenifer Montoya Velasquez, who would eventually become the committee chair. Upon returning from the conference at Albany, Montoya Velasquez, who was born in Honduras and raised in Hickory, immediately went to see Linda Snyder in the Department of Campus Activities.

鈥淚 said, 鈥榃e鈥檙e having a conference and we鈥檙e booking the whole UC,鈥� 鈥� Montoya Velasquez said.

Initially, they looked at inviting colleges and universities within a two-hour driving radius of WCU. But, after doing some research on what other student leadership conferences focusing on Latino students were offered in the area, they discovered that the only one in the entire Southeast region was in Florida. So, the group began looking at extending their invitations outside of the initial two-hour radius.

The students relied on email and social media to spread the word about the conference. On social media, Montoya Velasquez said they followed about 200 collegiate groups that were the equivalent of WCU鈥檚 LASO, and began sending them direct messages.

鈥淭hose students reached out to their advisers and that鈥檚 how everything started happening,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was literally word of mouth. It wasn鈥檛 like we were televising it.鈥�

The group met with WCU鈥檚 Office of University Marketing to design a website. The first school to show interest was UNC Wilmington. Then, the first 10 students to register were from Guilford College. Along the way, they have forged relationships with Latino/Hispanic students at various institutions, relationships that didn鈥檛 exist before, Montoya Velasquez said.

Including 52 WCU students who are registered, the group is expecting about 175 attendees. In addition to UNC Wilmington and Guilford, students from Appalachian State, N.C. Central, the University of Tennessee, UNC Pembroke, UNC Greensboro, UNC Charlotte and UNC Asheville are among those expected to attend.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 huge for the university because it鈥檚 showing that the need is there,鈥� Montoya Velasquez said. 鈥淪tudents want to partake in this. People are coming in Thursday. People are not coming in on Friday, and that shows people really want to come to these workshops and want to learn how they can become better students and how they can apply this to their institutions.鈥�

The students selected 鈥淢aximizing Nosotros: Empowering Latinx Students for Success鈥� as the event theme. Within that, there are three conference tracks students can choose from 鈥� 鈥淥wning Our Values,鈥� 鈥淐hallenging Ourselves鈥� and 鈥淐laiming Our Roots.鈥�

鈥淲e chose those three because I feel like as we grow up in the American society, we forget where we came from,鈥� Montoya Velasquez said.

The entire process of planning and putting on a conference has been a valuable learning experience for the students, one that didn鈥檛 always go smoothly, said freshman Andrea Romero Dugarte of Winston-Salem.

鈥淚 really was hesitant for a long time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was really inspiring to see the students come together and work to put this conference together, starting out with very little. But we鈥檝e received so much support to make it possible. It鈥檚 really been eye-opening. I鈥檝e learned a lot from the process. I know we鈥檒l take a lot of what we鈥檝e learned from our experience this year for the following years.鈥�

The students learned how to enter into contractual conversations with presenters, and develop relationships with campus departments like catering and campus activities, and were actively involved in fundraising. They hired a student graphic designer, who developed logos to be used for the next 20 years, as well as a student photographer.

To raise money, they had a percentage night at South of Philly in Sylva where they received a percentage of the proceeds. They held a dance and hosted a Valentine鈥檚 Day photo booth. They also put together proposals to receive money from WCU鈥檚 Campus Theme Committee and the Student Government Association.

鈥淪GA was blown out of the water,鈥� Montoya Velasquez said. 鈥淲hen we went to ask for money, they were like, 鈥楾his is the best presentation we have ever seen. You guys are so professional. You had your thoughts well put together.鈥� They asked us like 15 different questions and they were so amazed at how organized and prepared we were.鈥�

The group also has received sponsorships from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Technology, Campus Activities and the Department of Residential Living. In addition, various departments across campus sponsored scholarships for students to attend.

In addition to the workshops, comedian Franciso Ramos will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, April 12, in the UC Grandroom. Ramos has appeared on HBO and Comedy Central and was a top 10 finalist on 鈥淟ast Comic Standing鈥� in 2015.

Keynote speaker Jose Hernandez will speak Saturday, April 13, at 7 p.m. Hernandez is a retired chief diversity officer and associate vice president for the University of South Florida. The conference will conclude with an awards show Sunday, April 14, at 10 a.m.

The group hopes this is the first of many conferences. In addition, they hope it shows prospective Latino/Hispanic students that WCU is an inviting place.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important for students coming to this campus to see that we do support our Latino community,鈥� Romero Dugarte said. 鈥淲e want to empower them and provide a sense of belonging and a lot of guidance for their futures.鈥�

They already have begun looking ahead at ways to ensure the conference continues. They are in the early stages of exploring ways to establish an endowment, Nazario-Col贸n said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing just seeing the ideas,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a generational gap in how I, as an administrator who likes to think I have always been on the cutting edge of things, they surpassed me. The amount of work they do, the energy, how quickly they get things. It鈥檚 just been amazing to watch them be engaged and feel part of a much larger world.

鈥淎nother part the students really didn鈥檛 think of, they are involved at a very high level in the economic impact of our region,鈥� he added. 鈥淏y creating this conference and bringing in all of these individuals from outside our region, they have impacted the hotel industry, the restaurant industry, the retail industry, without knowing and without intentionally thinking about it. That positions our university in a much better light as a major employer and as an anchor to our region. I think they deserve kudos for that. I鈥檓 very proud of them.鈥�

From a discussion in the back of a van to hosting Latino/Hispanic students from across the Southeast, to Friday鈥檚 first workshop, WCU students are about to see what success looks like.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like a dream come true because we kept talking about it,鈥� Montoya Velasquez said. 鈥淭o see that we were able to put this all together, it鈥檚 going to set the tone and allow students to say, 鈥業 can do anything and everything that I want to do on a campus.鈥� As long as we鈥檙e committed and motivated, then we can make it happen.鈥�