Latino Family Summit returns to Sonoma State University

After a hiatus, the Latino Family Summit is returning today to Sonoma State University.

The all-day event will provide Sonoma County and Bay Area high school students and their families information on the college admissions process, financial aid and the California Dream Act. SSU students also will offer workshops for the high schoolers on college readiness and eligibility, self esteem and cultural empowerment.

The parent workshops and forums will be held in Spanish and led by school counselors and university professors as well as officials from Santa Rosa Junior College, said Magali Telles, SSU’s college readiness programs coordinator and event organizer. The student discussions will be bilingual, she said.

Telles expects about 500 students and parents to attend the free event, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Center ballrooms on the Rohnert Park campus. Parents need to be aware of the many services available for their children to succeed in college, she said.

“If you don’t have anyone that says I’ve been there, done that, it’s really rough,” Telles, who was the first in her family to graduate from a four-year university. “I hope that both students and parents walk away (from the summit) feeling empowered and confident that they understand the pathway to a university degree.”

Telles first launched the summit in 2008, but it has lacked the necessary funding for the past four years.