Educators, admissions officers, student success coaches, advisers, and administrators in both K-12 and higher education gathered in the Student Union on Monday morning for the Latino American Symposium on Education and Research.

According to John Alvarez Turner, associate director of the Multicultural Center, L.A.S.E.R.’s vision is to “foster continued dialogue about methods that will continue to keep Hispanic Americans achieving those educational milestones for success; by bridging relationships with our teachers, school administrators, higher education and career professionals, the community, policymakers and other key agencies.”

L.A.S.E.R. was a continuation of the scholarship discussed at the March 6, 2015 Ohio Latino Education Summit hosted by the University of Akron and the Ohio Commission for Hispanic and Latino Affairs.

Luis Ponjuan, associate professor of higher education administration at Texas A&M University; Vasti Torres, dean of the college of education at the University of South Florida; Melba Vasquez, a counseling psychologist in full-time independent practice in Austin, Texas; and Lilleana Cavanaugh, executive director for the Ohio Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs, were all speakers at yesterday’s event.

L.A.S.E.R. provided educators with practical training and tools to help enhance the persistence, achievement and student success of Latinos.

The symposium was sponsored by The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology, The Multicultural Center, and the University of Akron.