Page 22
^¡Jortlanb (Obstruer
June 22, 2011
el O bservador ________
‘La Casa Latina” Opens at Portland State
New center
supports
Latino success
L a tin o fa c u lty , a d v iso rs an d a d
m in is tra to rs at P S U , o ffe rin g b i
lin g u a l fa m ily o rie n ta tio n , an d
p ro v id in g m o re sc h o la rsh ip s for
L a tin o stu d en ts.
L a tin o s m ak e up 2 0 p e rc e n t o f
s t u d e n t s in O r e g o n 's p u b l i c
sc h o o ls, an d are the fa stest g ro w
in g p o p u la tio n in O reg o n . P S U 's
L a tin o s tu d e n t p o p u la tio n is
a b o u t 1,600. B o o stin g the n u m b e r
o f L a tin o c o lle g e stu d en ts is one
o f the g o als o f ¡É x ito !, w h ic h is
"La C a sa L a tin a ," a su p p o rt
c e n te r at P o rtla n d S ta te U n iv e r
sity fo r L a tin o stu d e n ts, lo c a te d
a d ja c e n t to P S U 's M u ltic u ltu ra l
C e n te r, o p e n e d th is m o n th in a
c e re m o n y w ith 150 v isito rs.
T h e ro o m , d e sig n e d to be an
in v itin g m e e tin g p la ce fo r L a tin o
stu d e n ts to stu d y an d m eet w ith
a d v iso rs an d m e n to rs, is a p ro d
uct o f " ¡É x ito !" an in itia tiv e b e
g u n in 2 0 0 9 to a d v a n c e L a tin o
s tu d e n t su c c e ss at PSU .
T h e ta sk fo rce re c o m m e n d e d
c o n s tru c tio n o f th e su p p o rt c e n
te r as o n e o f se v e ra l w ay s the
u n iv e rs ity c o u ld h e lp the L a tin o
s tu d e n t p o p u la tio n . T h e n e w
sp ac e w ill h av e a s ta ff p e rs o n an d A three-panel mural designed by student artists depicts Latinos progressing from migrant labor to
is fille d w ith o rig in a l a rt, c o m fo rt college life and academic success at the new ‘La Casa Latina, ’ at Portland State University.
ab le fu rn itu re an d th re e new c o m b u t it's o n ly a v isu al m a n ife sta - said PS U P re sid e n t W im W iew el
In a d d itio n to o p e n in g L a C a sa
p u te r s ta tio n s.
tio n of th e m an y p ro g ra m s w e 're d u rin g th e g ra n d o p e n in g c e r- L a tin a , o th e r g o a ls o f ¡É x ito ! in -
"The sp ace is a w on d erfu l th in g , p ro m o tin g fo r L a tin o su c c e ss,
em ony.
e lu d e d o u b lin g th e n u m b e r o f
Young Professional Helps Chamber
R oberto Flores has been w el
com ed as a new m em ber o f the Board
o f D irectors o f the H ispanic M etro
politan C ham ber, a group started in
1994 to support the econom ic a d
v ancem ent o f northw est L atinos.
Flores is an account executive fo r
B lueC ross B lueS hield in P ortland
and a graduate o f Portland State
U niversity. H e also co m p leted the
H ispanic C h am b er’s year long lead
ership program .
“ R oberto brings business exper- Roberto Flores
tise and a young professional’s per
spective that will be helpful as we
continue to reach out to young pro
fessionals in our com m unity. Roberto
was raised in G ervais. He is a lifelong
O regonian dedicated to helping im
prove the quality o f life for all O rego
nians. W e are pleased that he has
jo in ed us,” said Jerry Petty, the H is
panic C ham ber Board chair.
F o r m ore inform ation about the
H ispanic C h am b er program s and
events visit h m cco reg o n .co m .
S p a n ish fo r "su ccess."
T h e g ra n d o p e n in g cam e a day
a fte r the d e m ise o f a p ro p o se d law
in th e O re g o n L e g isla tu re , w hich
w o u ld h av e a llo w ed the n o n -U .S .-
born ch ild ren o f illegal im m igrants
to pay in -sta te tu itio n at O re g o n 's
sev e n p u b lic u n iv e rsitie s.
W iew e l e n c o u ra g e d the c ro w d
to lo o k on the p o sitiv e sid e, s a y
in g th e su p p o rt o f the b ill by P S U
an d the L a tin o c o m m u n ity w as a
g re a t o rg a n iz in g e ffo rt th a t can
b rin g th e issu e o f "tu itio n e q u ity "
fo r L a tin o stu d e n ts to the n a tio n a l
level.
Hispanic Chamber
Receives Grant
T he H ispanic M etropolitan C h am b er received a $30,000 grant to
build capacity and increase the num ber o f businesses and students
served.
T he donation from the D onald H. Frank Fund and the C hristine and
C.F. S w igert Jr. Fund II o f the O regon C om m unity Foundation will help
the ch am b er support its technical assistance to L atino and other sm all
businesses, and build scholarships for L atino students statew ide.
T he foundation w orks w ith individuals, fam ilies, businesses and
Latino Leadership Cultivated
M ichelleH ouseoftheU niledW ay
o f the C olum bia-W illam ette has been
accepted into the rigorous, yearlong
Latino Leadership Program through
the H ispanic M etropolitan Cham ber.
Each year, aclass o f approximately
20 individuals, participate in a 12
m onth program to develop the lead
ership and management skills o f prom
ising Latinos in the Portland com m u
nity.
“W e are honored to have one o f
our staff m em bers chosen to be a part
o f this rigorous leadership program
that does such a w onderful jo b o f
fostering the talents our future Latino
leaders,’ ’ said Jay Bloom, interim Presi
dent and C E O for U nited W ay o f the
Columbia-W illamette.
H ouse, an em ployee o f U nited
W ay for alm ost 13 years, m anages
the pledge processing activities for
all U nited W ay w orkplace and indi-
vidual donors.
that I already bring to die table in my
“I’m eag er to begin the program to w o rk w ith U n ite d W a y ,” s a id
gain new skills and enhance the ones Michelle.
THE LAW OFFICES OF
Patrick John Sweeney, PC
ia»/-
Patrick John Sweeney
organizations to create charitable funds to support com m unity c au ses.
To learn m ore about the H ispanic C h am b er program s and events,
visit hm ccoregon.com
Avalon Flowers
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