U.S. Army Partners with USHLI to Reinforce Career Success for Hispanic Youth

The U.S. Army is once again joining forces with the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) to ensure Hispanic youth are prepared to attend college and become leaders in their communities. As part of this partnership, the Army will again sponsor and host a leadership workshop at USHLI's annual conference, Feb. 13-16 in Chicago, where academic and career opportunities are showcased to the Hispanic community. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Education, Hispanic youth are more likely to drop out of high school than other groups, and Latino students who attend college are less likely to graduate than students of other ethnicities. The Army, and organizations like USHLI, is committed to increasing access to higher education, leadership development and career opportunities for Hispanic students.  The Army boasts the nation's largest college scholarship program, investing almost $280 million at more than 1,300 college campuses nationwide through its senior ROTC program. For more information about scholarship opportunities visit GoArmyROTC. The Army's commitment to education is also evident via the free resources and programs it provides to middle school and high school students. The Army-sponsored March 2 Success program is a free web-based learning tool designed to assist educators, parents and students to prepare for high school entrance and standardized testing, as well as the ACT and SAT college entrance exams. Parents and educators interested in learning more about the March 2 Success program should visit the Web site March2Success.com. For more than ten years, USHLI and the U.S. Army have worked together to generate awareness and build mutual support among community leaders and USHLI constituents.  The partnership exists to create, promote and implement education and leadership training opportunities for youth across the nation. The Army will continue to support USHLI throughout the year as a sponsor of their Student Leadership Summits (SLS) professional development seminars that take place throughout the country and feature nationally prominent motivational speakers. Read full story. 

Why Spanish is so Important for Students?

Traditionally, people educated in the United States have not been obligated to learn another language beyond English. But times have changed. Globalization, particularly in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, has elevated the increasing importance of being able to communicate with citizens from other countries. Increasingly, the second language U.S. citizens are choosing to learn is Spanish. Trends today show that Americans are studying Spanish in record numbers. Indeed, education in an international setting is becoming a top mandate for the American government because people need to compete economically. According to Business Week  for example, more students studying for an MBA in today's world are choosing to become trilingual by learning English, French, and Spanish. Moreover, two of the top ten MBA schools outside the U.S. are located in Spain. Many other reasons compel people to learn Spanish as a second language. Why is it important to learn Spanish? First, almost 500 million people worldwide speak Spanish. Even more compelling is the fact that about half of the population in the Western hemisphere speaks Spanish, making it the primary language for as many people as English in this region of the world. Most citizens in South America speak primarily Spanish (aside from Brazil), as do people living in just about all of Central America, Mexico, and Latin America—more than 15 countries in total. In addition, within the United States, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language after English—by a very wide margin. Third, Spanish is the third-most commonly spoken language in the world. In contrast, Spanish is spoken in more than 21 countries. Students at Mount Pleasant Academy in South Carolina are getting an early start at learning foreign language and it’s all thanks to team work and support from parents. Spanish comes to you at Mount Pleasant Academy, and the mobile classroom makes frequent stops. Spanish teacher Amanda Palacio says, “It’s Spanish on wheels. I go to classrooms. Kindergarten through third grade has me twice a week. Fourth and fifth have me once a week, and I spend thirty minutes with each class that I go to, and we do an assortment of things. We play games; we go through a lot of vocabulary. We’ve learned all the basics like greetings, colors, month, we focus on seasons, but a lot of it has been practicing conversations.” Foreign language is not funded by the school district on the elementary levels, so the PTA is footing the bill. This is the first year for the program at Mount Pleasant Academy. “It’s the pride and joy of our school. Our PTA worked real hard to raise the funds to have a Spanish teacher this year. The children love it, the parents love it. I think it’s definitely an advantage to be exposed to a different culture and language so we are real excited about it,” says Principal Jane Davis. MPA is among the highest when it comes to student achievement in the state. The PTA also raised money for a computer teacher and new playground equipment.

A History of Latinos in the Big Game

Many prominent football players have made it to the big game and represented their culture and heritage in the Super Bowl. Fox New Latino takes a look at some of the greatest and in some cases just players who made it to the big game and the impact they’ve had on the sport.

This is not a comprehensive list of all Latinos who’ve played in the Super Bowl, but a list of the bigger names and obvious participants.

Last Year

Victor Cruz and Aaron Hernandez

The New York Giants Victor Cruz has become a media sensation in his short time in the league with his Latino flair and salsa dancing.  Just last year the wide receiver won his first championship with the Giants, catching a touchdown at Super Bowl XLVI. Cruz’s mother is Puerto Rican. The losing New England Patriots had tight end Aaron Hernandez, who is also of Puerto Rican heritage. He led the team with 67 receiving yards and also scored a touchdown for his team, though the team ended up losing.

The Legends

Tom Flores – Quarterback/Head Coach - Oakland / LA Raiders

Flores was the first Latino quarterback in the NFL and the first Latino to lead a team to a Super Bowl title. Flores won a Super Bowl as a Kansas City Chiefs (he backed up Len Dawson), an assistant coach with the Raiders and most notably as head coach of the Raiders in Super Bowl XV and XVIII. Flores still hasn’t been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Jim Plunkett – Quarterback - Oakland Raiders

Jim Plunkett, who is Mexican-American, won the Heisman Trophy as quarterback with Stanford University in 1970, the first Latino to win the big prize. He was the first Latino to get drafted in the 1st round selected first overall. In 1981, Plunkett led the team to his first Super Bowl win as the game’s MVP.  Three years later, he did it again.

Ted Hendricks – Linebacker – Baltimore Colts/Oakland / LA Raiders

Hendricks was born in Guatemala his mother a native of the country. He earned his Hall of Fame status in 1990. He dominated as a pass-rushing linebacker, earning eight Pro Bowl appearances and being named first-team All Pro four times. He finished with 60.5 sacks, 26 interceptions and was a member of four Super Bowl-winning teams.

Anthony Muñoz – Offensive Tackle – Cincinatti Bengals

Hall of Fame lineman Anthony Muñoz played in two Super Bowls, XVI and XXIII.  But each time his team lost to the San Francisco 49ers.

Manny Fernandez – Defensive Tackle – Miami Dolphins

Manny Fernandez played in three Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins. In Super Bowl VII he had 17 tackles as the Dolphins beat the Redskins and completed the only undefeated season of NFL history.

Joe Kapp – Quarterback – Minnesota Vikings

Kapp entered the NFL in 1967 and led the Vikings to their first division title and Super Bowl, losing to the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.  In 1970, he made the cover of Sports Illustrated in a piece titled “The Toughest Chicano.”

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/sports/2013/02/01/super-bowl-history-latinos-in-big-game/#ixzz2JfcDyRuC