USHLI & CMA

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute's annual conference held in Chicago, IL or Chi-Town, as some like to call it...

For the past 15 years, the Center for Multicultural Affairs here at CU has offered a course the nationally recognized course called Collegiate Leadership Development Program (CLDP). The mission of CLDP is to cultivate diverse students including ally leaders through greater activism on campus and in their community. This 7 week seminar series is designed to promote and facilitate constructive dialogue and interaction between underrepresented students and key university officials. A national certificate and recognition is awarded upon completion. In addition, a trip to the USHLI Conference is covered by CMA.

USHLI was originally a grassroots movement whose mission was and is to promote empowerment and civic responsability. USHLI has developed into one of the most powerful, nationally and internationally recognized Latino organizations in the country.

This year's convention featured key note speakers like Rev. Jesse Jackson and Anthony Romero, the Executive Director for ACLU. This year's convention also bestowed the National Hispanic Hero Award upon Raul Yzaguirre who founded the National Council for La Raza. The convention also offered a variety of workshops that ranged from motivational speakers to leadership and beyond. After leaving the conference, one could not help but feel empowered to make a difference in society. It was really amazing.