Mente
Senior Institute
The MENTE Senior Institute is a four-week workshop initiative spanning the month of February. The goal is to support graduating Latinx seniors and provide relevant networking opportunities and tools covering topics such as scholarship and admission essays, financial literacy, applying to community colleges and four-year universities, and supporting DACAmented and undocumented students. These workshops are COMPLETELY FREE and will be facilitated by the MENTE Board. Space is limited and registration will be limited to a first come first served basis. Each workshop will require registration and will be held over Zoom. For more information and to register see below.
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Mente Scholarship Writing Workshop
By Gerardo Ochoa, President
Duration: 4 hours
Date: February 6th at 10:00 am-2:00 pm
Mente President and Contributing author of Path to Scholarships, Gerardo Ochoa Ed.M. will conduct a four-hour scholarship writing workshop. Students will learn about strategies for effective story-telling and leave with a draft of a winning scholarship essay. Students will be supported by Mente board members and other Latinx-males who are either currently enrolled in college or have graduated from college. The workshop will be conducted in English, Spanish, and Spanglish. All writing abilities are welcome.
Space is limited to 50 registered students. Registration will close when capacity is reached.
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Registration is now closed.
Applying to College with Carlos & José
By Carlos Sánchez Huizar, Conference Committee Rep & José Esparza, Treasurer
Duration: 1 Hour
Date: February 12th at 3:30 pm-4:30 pm
Regardless of your high school GPA, you have the opportunity to go to college. Join us if you’re an honor roll student deciding on a college or someone just trying to determine if you can go to college. This workshop will discuss the different admission requirements between a community college and four-year schools to determine the best fit for you. Whether you want to be a doctor or a car mechanic, we will discuss what to consider when applying, the cost of a college education, and provide a step-by-step overview of the different admissions processes.
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Registration is now closed.
The Basics of FAFSA and ORSAA
By Efraín Rivas-Flores, Vice-President
Duration: 1 Hour
Date: February 19th at 3:30pm-4:30pm
This workshop is a general overview of the financial aid application process, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and the Oregon Student Aid Application (ORSAA). Students will learn the basic information about Federal and state aid programs & eligibility, when and how to complete the FAFSA and ORSAA, and determining dependency status.
Registration is now closed.
Supporting Non-Traditional Students
By Eder Mondragon
Duration: 1 Hour
Date: February 24th at 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Key themes: Latino males, undocumented students, returning students, student parents, education plan, economic advancement, financial aid, college enrollment and admissions
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Having a college degree can get you paid more, but it is expensive if you didn’t get a 4.0 GPA or if you don’t qualify for FAFSA. Are you curious about going to a college or university, but worried it’s too expensive because you’re undocumented/DACA or because you don’t have a high school diploma? MENTE will be presenting how you can afford tuition if you are undocumented or have DACA. We’ll also be showing how you can get back into school if you had to leave or if you never finished high school. This presentation will be bilingual in Spanish and English.
Tener un título de la universidad te puede pagar más, pero es caro si no recibiste buenas calificaciones o si no calificas para FAFSA. Estás interesado en ir a la universidad, ¿pero te preocupa que es muy caro porque eres indocumentado/DACA o porque no tienes un diploma de la preparatoria? MENTE va a presentar maneras de cómo puedes pagar tu colegiatura si eres indocumentado o tienes DACA. También vamos a hablar de cómo puedes regresar a la universidad si tuviste que dejar de estudiar o si nunca terminaste la preparatoria. Esta presentación será bilingüe en español e inglés.
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