Local high school and Saint Peter’s College students listened intently as political and business leaders shared their keys to success yesterday at a conference at the college’s Roy Irving Theater.
Not surprisingly, getting a solid education in fields like science, technology, engineering and mathematics is on the top of their list.
“The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute Future Leaders Conference was conceived as an opportunity to bring together student leaders and young professionals of diverse backgrounds . . . ,” said CHLI chairman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a former Republican congressman from Florida.
He said students should learn about the role the Hispanic community is playing in U.S. society.
Diaz-Balart and his brother, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Florida, Saint Peter’s College President Eugene Cornacchia, Rep. Albio Sires, D-West New York and Sen. Robert Menendez all spoke to the students.
“With hard work and sacrifice, anything is possible,” said Menendez, the former Union City mayor. “As we reach the apex of human intellect, the possibilities are unlimited.”
Afterward, a panel of executives from Google, AT&T Labs Research, and Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP) spoke to the packed auditorium about the benefits of pursuing all the possible avenues that are available for education.
“The best way to market your skills is by figuring out what those skills are,” said Jason Llorenz, the executive director of HTTP. Llorenz related to the students by pointing to multi-billion ideas such as the Smartphone Marketplace and Facebook that made their young creators wealthy.
Keynote Speaker Dr. Alicia Abella, the executive director of Innovative Services Research for AT&T, told the students to ignore the stereotypes that portray math and science as “nerdy.”
“Math is only hard if you fall behind,” Abella said, noting that by focusing on her studies in high school she was able to attend Colombia University with fellowships.
A panel of executives from McDonalds, General Electric, Verizon and Continental Food & Beverage conducted a question and answer session with the students.
Hoboken High School student Israel Flores, 17, saidthe message he got from the conference was that “hard work gives you success. You need to work hard to get what you want.”
Flores said the speakers and panelists were all people he could “look up to” and despite being interested in a filmmaking career, he noted that editing and special effects work typically involves math.