On Saturday, March 15, the Latino Student Union (LSU) held its annual Latino Summit focused on college readiness in the LAHS library and college career center. The 70 to 80 people who attended picked from a variety of panels aimed at students, parents and incoming freshman.

College Career Center Coordinator Dawn Allen held a brief introductory session for parents about what her work at the school entails. She spoke about her availability and the important test students will have to take such as AP exams, the SAT and ACT. A different session was held in the library and was helmed by former LAHS students who discussed their high school experience. The graduates went into detail about how they overcame stereotypes, discrimination and other obstacles.

“We had a lot of tables set up from colleges like Foothill and De Anza,” LSU President Oliva Olivares said. “We had a lot of summer programs students that could get involved with and internships.”

The Latino Summit comes in addition to recent efforts by the club to reach out to eighth graders from Crittenden and Graham Middle School. This is part of LSU’s plan to reach a wider audience earlier on and more effectively.

“I think it’s extremely important [to have summits like this one] because I think at Los Altos a lot of the parents that aren’t English speakers or don’t really know how to get a lot of information don’t always get it,” Oliva said. “Events like these really help the parents know that there’s a lot of support and also lets them meet the staff that are always able to help them.”

LSU hopes to hold similar summits to encourage underrepresented students to be excited about the prospect of college as well as help them succeed in this goal. In the meantime, interested parents may join the parent group of LSU, LUCHA, in order to become more involved in the school.