New Initiative Helps Indiana’s Hispanic and Latino Learners Obtain Education and Training Beyond High School

(INDIANAPOLIS) – The Indiana Commission for Higher Education announces today a new initiative aimed at increasing student access and attainment to higher education for the state’s Hispanic and Latino learners and families.

Funded by Indiana’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), five Padres Estrellas – translated as “Star Parents” – will work with community organizations focused on empowering Hoosier Hispanic and Latino communities to provide college and career support to students and families across the state.

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Commissions offer opportunity to make citizens’ voices heard

The City of Bloomington has more than 33 boards and commissions with more than 250 members that help advise the mayor, the city council and varying legislative bodies in the community. They range from topics such as a commission that covers environmental issues to a group that oversee the status of women, Hispanic and Latino affairs and children.

Of all the groups, 19 currently have vacancies. Mary Catherine Carmichael, director of public engagement, said residents can apply any time, but there are many spots that open up Dec. 31 and Jan. 31 because of the two year term limits. The applications for each board are on their page on the city website

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Mike Pence’s Nephew: Meet Trump’s Latino Outreach Team

When the Trump reelection campaign kicked off its “Latinos for Trump” outreach effort in Miami this summer, it didn’t have the benefit of any Latino Cabinet members who might appeal to the large number of Spanish-speaking voters in the state. So it turned to the next best thing: Vice President Mike Pence.

It’s hard to imagine someone less suited to rally Latino voters than Pence, a non-Spanish-speaking white guy from Indiana, a state whose Latino population clocks in at a mere 7 percent. Yet there he was, walking on to the stage to Free’s “All Right Now” in a hotel ballroom full of cheering Latinos. “Hola Miami!” he cried, giving a big thumbs up. Speaking for 40 minutes, Pence hammered home Trump’s biggest selling points with Latino voters: the roaring economy, the low Latino unemployment rate, and the president’s robust opposition to socialism, especially in places like Venezuela.

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