Fifty HSA students and parents were among over 400 Alliance families who were brought together by Accion on Saturday, March 10th.  

After a greeting by Accion Founder and Executive Director Gloria Diaz Ventura and Occidental College Associate Dean of Admission Pati Pineiro-Goodenberger, attendees participated in bi-lingual workshops that were held throughout the day and led by Alliance alumni and their parents.  These invaluable workshops gave participants an opportunity to talk with current college students, alumni and parents about their experiences; and work with college admissions representatives on completing college applications and writing compelling essays.

During lunch, students and families visited the event's college fair. More than 30 colleges from across the state and the country participated to inform and recruit students.

The closing session featured keynote speaker Lalo Alcaraz, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and Latino journalist.  At the end of the session, some great raffle prizes and a generous $500 scholarship were given out.

It was such an inspiring day and we are so grateful to Occidental College, and to Gloria Diaz Ventura and her team at Accion.  We also want to thank Alliance Director of College Success Nicole Murphy and her team for their hard work, and HSA Counselor Kristen Rivas and Director of Instruction Andrew Crowe for ensuring that our students and parents were part of this great event.

For more pictures, visit our photo album.