Middle and high school Latina students, some of whom could be the first in their families to get to college, will jumpstart their path to higher education at the 10th annual Latina Youth Leadership Conference Friday in the University Union Ballroom.

“I want them to see that anything is possible, and that they too can attend college,” said senior ethnic studies major Maribel Cisneros, president of the Lambda Theta Nu sorority, which aims to meet the needs of Latina women in higher education.

The conference, which will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., is inspirational because it shows young girls they can better their lives, said senior health science and pre-nursing major Seyda Elias, vice president of Lambda Theta.

It is a way to promote higher education to Sacramento-area students, who have fewer resources available to go to college, Elias said.

Cisneros said Latinas do not attend college because many of their parents did not nor provided them with information about higher education.

“It has to do with the culture,” Elias said. “Parents show the kids their way of life.”

Some students come from migrant families and most either marry and have kids at a young age, or marry because of pregnancy, Cisneros said.

To encourage Sacramento middle and high schools to participate, a packet that contains information about the conference, statistics about Latina students’ college graduation rate and information about Lambda Theta Nu Sorority is distributed to schools located near Sacramento State.

This year, the 250 girls attending are from Sacramento middle and high schools, including Valley High School, Albert Einstein Middle School, Yuba City High School and Will C. Wood Middle School.

It will start with a keynote speaker followed by a series of workshops throughout the day and a campus tour.

Cisneros said Lambda Theta Nu is looking for a keynote speaker to replace the previous Sac State professor who had cancelled due to schedule conflicts. She said she wanted to keep the professor’s name anonymous.

The sorority is hoping to have a Latina keynote speaker who has finished college to show the girls there are others like them, Elias said.

At the workshops, the girls will learn about the academic requirements to get into the California State University system, Sac State’s College Assistance Migrant Program and about how they can handle their finances and pay for college.

Through icebreakers, students can interact with each other to learn about being comfortable in new situations and to get to know their peers.

Prior to the event, girls can apply for a $500 scholarship that will be awarded during the conference.

Cisneros and Elias are both the first women in their families to attend college.

“I never saw anyone to go to school,” Elias said.

Cisneros said she believes the conference could have motivated her earlier to pursue higher education because she did not see Latinas in college when she was younger.

Cisneros said she did not have the motivation to attend college, and after high school she was thinking of joining the workforce. She decided to attend college because she was seeing her parents struggle because of lack of education.

Deisy Padilla, family center coordinator for Valley High School, said holding the conference in a university will give the students an idea of what it is like to be in college, and to see other Latina students in higher education.

“(Students) can grow from this – grow cognitively and develop mentally,” Padilla said.

Thirty-one students from Valley High School will be participating at the conference.

The event is sponsored by Associated Students Inc. and Downtown Sacramento’s 524 Mexican Restaurant. Funds for the event are received through ASI Dollars for Organizations and Clubs. The budget for this year’s event is $1,500, a 50 percent decrease from last year. The drop in the budget means there are 48 fewer girls and 4 fewer schools attending.

Moreover, a decrease in area schools’ budgets mean fewer can participate because the schools have to have the funds to transport the girls to Sac State.

Michelle Curtis can be reached at [email protected].