Latino Business leaders in Boston to expose Latino youth to graduate business education.

Fifty outstanding Latino college students were selected to participate in an all-expenses paid trip to Boston to learn about the professional benefits that a graduate business degree (MBA) offers. Coming from as far away as Puerto Rico, Nevada and New Mexico, the students will have direct access to admissions representatives from 10 U.S. universities nationwide. The program is the brainchild of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), which enlisted the support of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to host the event. Selection criteria were based on academic achievement, leadership ability and community involvement.

“As the largest minority group in the U.S., the Latino community needs to prepare the next generation of leaders now. We are pleased to see that U.S. colleges and corporate America share our vision and are behind us 100% on this effort, said NSHMBA Northeastern Region Director and conference co-chair! Jesus M. Maldonado Reyes.

The two-day event will run concurrently with NSHMBA’s 1st Annual National Hispanic Leadership and Governance Conference. The four-day conference will provide leadership training and professional development opportunities to 120 NSHMBA leaders from the 29 chapters across the nation including Puerto Rico. “Our leaders take back a wealth of new knowledge that will allow them to more effectively manage their respective chapters, not to mention a number of new additions to their professional network,” said Maldonado Reyes.

The conference will start with a Welcome Reception on Thursday evening, June 22, at the Hyatt Cambridge Hotel. Carlos Torres, Vice President at Goldman Sachs will be the guest speaker. Friday’s schedule includes a Leadership Awards Dinner at MIT’s Walker Memorial Hall which will honor outstanding contributions by Latino Leaders in the area of education. This year’s award recipients include Dr. John Ramos, Superintendent of Public Schools of Bridgeport CT (Education Leadership Award), and the local based non-profit organization Centro Presente, Inc. (Education “Non Profit” Leadership Award). Radio host and community leader Jose Masso will be the master of ceremonies. Dr. Roberto Rigobón, MIT associate Professor, will be the keynote speaker.

The National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), created in 1988, is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to foster Hispanic leadership through graduate management education and professional development. NSHMBA serves 28 chapters and 8,000 members in the United States and Puerto Rico.