“Raise your hands. Who here is a leader?” asked Latino Community Program Coordinator and International Student Advisor Jorge Zeballos in Spanish.A veritable forest of raised arms filled the Alumni Gym.

The Soy Un Líder (“I Am a Leader”) Conference is an annual event at Guilford that brings together students of Latin American descent from all over the region, this year welcoming students of Palestinian, Sudanese, and Congolese descent as well. About 200 students from over 20 high schools took part.

After addresses from Zeballos and event organizer and junior Yazmin Garcia Rico, keynote speaker Raúl Granados stepped onto the podium. Granados’ family immigrated from Mexico to California when he was 14 to be farm workers. He spoke of initially being ashamed of his immigrant status, but then growing to take pride in himself as a Latino.

The key to reaching college for Latino students, Granados said, is to question every bit of discouraging information, like supposed scholarship unavailability. He also noted that while financial success is important in the long term, a surer route to personal happiness is to find a career that one enjoys. Granados forewent a career in engineering to teach theatre.

“It’s not how much you make, but how you can use what you have to benefit the community,” Granados said.

Students divided into groups and attended workshops in Duke Hall on college-related topics. These seminars included information on financial aid, the application process, and how to select the best choice of college. Irving Zavaleta, a 2008 alumnus, led a workshop on how to present oneself professionally.

Zavaleta organized the 2007 conference, and has been highly involved with Latino advocacy activities in the community.

“I still believe in the mission,” Zavaleta said, referring to the struggle to elevate students of color in society. He went on to detail how he would like to see Soy un Líder become a statewide event, reaching out to all Latino students in the spirit of Sí, se puede.

Sí, se puede, meaning, “Yes, it can be done” is a common rallying cry in Latin America to unite the public around a common cause. César Chávez and the United Farm Workers famously used the phrase as their slogan. It was in this spirit of unity that all involved with the conference came together.

Following the workshops, representatives from Guilford, Elon University, and Salem College, as well as the North Carolina Society of Hispanic Professionals held a small college fair in the gym. This fair allowed prospective students to get a sense of what questions they should ask and what answers they should expect in searching for a college.

As the day came to a close, the students assembled again in the Alumni Gym to hear the winners of the essay contest. Of four finalists, José Francisco Reyes Morales, an Early College junior, won first place and a prize of $500.

Second-place winner Stephanie Cedeño, a junior at West Guilford High School, gave her opinions on the day.

“(The conference) is really informative. It makes you feel like you really can be a leader,” said Cedeño.

Garcia Rico gave the closing address, explaining how the essay contest was meant to encourage students to prepare to write their college application essays.

The group leaders gathered in front of the audience to wish the students good luck. With tears in her eyes but her voice brimming with joy, Rico exhorted them to success.

“We’re just the students (here at Guilford.) There’s no difference between you and us,” Rico said.

Afterwards, she spoke of plans to expand next year’s conference beyond hosting solely Latino students to welcome all minorities.

The presence of multiple language barriers will be a challenge, because the primary language of the conference is Spanish, but Garcia Rico is already looking ahead to employing the Guilford student body’s full range of linguistic abilities to make it even more accessible to others.

Soy un Líder organizers and volunteers look forward to improving the future for students of color from many different backgrounds.