High-school students will gain a fresh perspective this month on the achievements of Hispanics in the Pittsburgh region – and on what skills all students will need to succeed in a global economy.
“Succeeding in the Age of Globalization: A Hispanic Perspective,” is a regional seminar expected to bring 250 local students to Upper St. Clair High School on Oct. 27, both to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and to learn about diversity in the workforce, here and everywhere. Sponsored by the
World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, the Office of County Executive Dan Onorato, and other organizations, the event will feature representatives from Westinghouse Electric Company, PNC Bank and Duquesne University’s Small Business Development Center.
Students will also have the chance to attend special breakout sessions held in Spanish, where native Spanish speakers who will talk about their educational and career paths, offering advice for students wishing to follow the same career paths into academia, business, nonprofits and other areas.
The Hispanic population in Pittsburgh itself is not large, making up just 5.6 percent of the region, acknowledges Allyce Pinchback, program officer at the local World Affairs Council. But that represents about a 40-percent increase from the previous tally, and of course the rest of the country has far outpaced us.
“The people you’ll be working with in the next 10 to 15 years won’t look like you, won’t speak the same language as you,” she says the seminar will emphasize. “We want the students to have an understanding of the differences but really to see the similarities in everybody.”
Writer:
Marty Levine
Source: Allyce Pinchback, World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh