Speech-language pathology is a profession that is often misunderstood by Americans and Latinos alike. Additionally, the number of bilingual speech therapists and the number of resources for bilingual treatment are limited. Increased efforts are needed to bridge the gap to improve access to speech therapy for the Latinx community.

Attendees will be able to…

• Describe the role of a speech-language pathologist

• Explain the need for more bilingual speech-language pathologists

• Identify methods to improve access to therapy for bilingual families

• Understand the steps to become a speech-language pathologist

• Distinguish when to advocate for speech therapy services for themselves or family members

A discussion around finding your own purpose, cultivating it, and utilizing it everywhere you go, particularly when sustaining and strengthening nuestra comunidad. 

The attendees will:

• Learn about identifying their purpose and how to continue acting as a resource as a young professional

• Gain perspective on the value of elevating the wealth of knowledge they hold 

• Plan on how they can use their knowledge to give back to nuestra gente y comunidad

As an undocumented immigrant in the US with DACA, I'll describe what my journey has been with a specific project, VotemosNC (https://votemosnc.com/), nonprofits, and technology to empower Civic Engagement in NC and beyond for the Hispanic communities we want to support.

Attendess will learn: 

• How there is power in volunteering locally

• Technology sounds complicated but we don't need cutting-edge to accomplish most of our needs

• Being an immigrant does not bar us from civic engagement even when we ourselves may not be able to vote

• Exposure to nonprofits doing work in this space

• As a young adult beyond undergrad, how can you empower organizations and others

Elevate First-Gen is a social enterprise dedicated to helping first-gen college students apply to graduate school programs. This interactive workshop is designed to help students think through their graduate school application process and prepare well in advance of actually applying. 

Attendees will learn

• What factors to consider when selecting schools/programs to apply to

• How to create a budget for the application process

• How to make a timeline to keep you on track for a successful application

This will be a 30-40 minute presentation reflecting on Kevin's personal journey through UNC as a DACA MBA candidate. He will lean on themes of resilience, leadership, legacy, "juntos", and collaboration. 

This session will:

• Inspire others to lead change at UNC, in their jobs, or anywhere they find themselves "present" 

The presentation will be a story of migration, a mix of cooking inspiration, memoir, and poetry. 

Attendees will:

• Understand what it means to be a Third Culture kid as it relates to “Ni de aqui, ni de alla”

• Understand the connection food has in defining “home”

• Have fun! For the cooks and the non-cooks, we will put radical joy in the process of cooking

The House of Impossible Beauties is a novel by author Joseph Cassara published in 2018. The novel follows the history of the first Latinx house in the ballroom scene, the House of Xtravaganza, founded by Puerto Rican trans woman Angel and her partner Hector. Angel forms the house during the AIDS crisis in New York City after being shamed for openly identifying as transgender in her mother's home. She takes in wayward souls Venus, Juanito, and Daniel a few years after the founding of the house to give these young adults safe places to create and perform their identities as queer Latinxs while navigating the harsh reality of an anti-queer NYC sexual world. 

It is in this creation of a Latinx queer family that one is able to understand the subversion of a Brown identity formation and the construction of a queer future that centers empowerment through gender-sexual performance as Latinxs face structural capitalist violence. 

This session will address queer Latinx identity formation via the ballroom house system and the deconstruction of the hegemonic family. It will also feature a brief drag/vogue performance at the end of the presentation to demonstrate a physical embodiment of the performance ideals in the ballroom scene.

Attendees will learn:

• How queer Latinxs were able to navigate violence and queerness during the AIDS crisis

• What it means to construct a queer, Brown family and address issues of queer futurity in a time when that did not appear to be an option for many Brown queers

• Why the performance of gender, race, and sexuality in ballroom culture positions itself both inside and outside of hegemonic identity to create the Brown queer

This session will expose the challenges and barriers of immigrant youth from El Salvador as they integrate and navigate the American School system. 

The attendees will learn:

• Who are Generation 1.5 immigrants in the United States

• About the El Salvador Generation 1.5 challenges and barriers while navigating the US school system

• How do those challenges impact their lived experience in the US

Join us in a discussion on steps you can take TODAY to set yourself up for financial success. 

Find healing in your relationship with money by challenging habits you've built based on you/your family's experiences. Leave this session with the KNOWLEDGE and RESOURCES you need as a student or young alumni to accomplish your financial goals in 2023 and beyond.

After this session, attendees should be able to:

• Create SMART short and long-term financial goals

• Understand the importance of checking and maintaining a healthy credit score

• Develop and identify what budget "type" will work for their current financial situation

• Start to unpack spending habits that are hindering their ability to live with a healthy money mindset

This session is intended to follow a moderated panel format. The first 5-10 will be introductions, followed by meaningful and insightful questions. 

We want our audience to get a better sense of what it means to be pre-med, pre-dental, pre-business, and pre-law from current Juniors/Seniors Latinx students who have taken classes at UNC. 

The academic rigor of UNC is incomparable, so knowing that students have made it through such difficult courses, have persevered amidst hardships, and have gotten involved outside of academics can offer insightful perspectives to First and Second year Latinx Students interested in these fields.

This session will:

• Create networks among panelists and attendees 

• Offer guidance to current first and second-year Latinx students 

• Uplift each other by being good listeners

This session will be a discussion between two friends who are continuing to evolve their faith identity as they grow up. 

The session will touch on themes of intersectionality and the decolonization of evangelical faith. Participants will hear from the facilitators about their experiences and will be invited to explore the impacts of their religious and cultural upbringings with each other. 

Few things in life are as valuable as a beautifully captured and preserved moment. That’s why photography and videography are Melanie Busbee's passions. 

She is a journalist by trade and a proud alumna of UNC-Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

We are so excited to have Melanie join us at La Conferencia! Please find her for your free headshot throughout the afternoon.