Olympic boxer Carlos Balderas will be one of the keynote speakers during Allan Hancock College’s Young Educated Latino Leaders Conference, better known as the YELL Conference, Saturday, Dec. 3, from 9 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. at the Marian Theatre on the college’s Santa Maria campus.
The event aims to encourage students to set higher educational goals by providing college and career guidance, as well as personalized stories of success. Any male high school student from the Central Coast is encouraged to attend.
Richard Santana and Roberto Rivas will also be keynote speakers during the event. The founder of Homeboy Goes to Harvard Productions, Santana will share his story as a third-generation gang member who went on to earn a master’s degree from Harvard University. Rivas, the founder and chief executive officer of Encuentros Leadership, will discuss the students’ rite of passage and explain how they can empower themselves to succeed.
Transportation to and from the event is available for students in the Santa Ynez and Lompoc valleys, Guadalupe, and southern San Luis Obispo County. Guests will receive food and have a chance to win prizes during the conference.
To register online for the conference and/or transportation, visit hancockcollege.edu/YELL. For more information, contact the Central Coast Cal-SOAP office at 922-6966, Ext. 3710.
This article appears in Dec 1-8, 2016.