JMU Professors Participate in Shenandoah Valley Scholars Leadership Retreat

On Saturday, November 4, Dr. Lou Betancourt, Dr. Ericka Collazo Vargas, Dr. Daniel Morales, and Dr. Yenisei Montes de Oca spoke to groups of high school and community college students attending the Scholars' Latino Initiative Fall Leadership Retreat at JMU's Student Success Center. The JMU faculty members were featured speakers in program sessions addressing careers and areas of study in Business and Entrepreneurship, Health and Wellbeing, Social Science and Law, and Language, Education, and Psychology. A number of other program sessions were also featured at the retreat, including admissions and financial aid, disability services, tutoring and learning services, and career and academic advising. The SLI Leadership Retreat is day long event, held once every semester at different colleges and universities in the Shenandoah Valley. The 90 attending students were high achieving, highly motivated, first-generation Latinx individuals attending Harrisonburg High School and high schools of Rockingham County, as well as individuals from Dream Project-Arlington, and Charlottesville's Habitat for Humanity, Southwood Mobile Home Park Youth Engagement. The retreat was hosted by Dr. Carlos Aleman, JMU Professor in Residence at Harrisonburg City Schools, and was supported by JMU's Office of Admission, Office of Access and Inclusion, College of Arts and Letters, and Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.