BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. - Latino high school students in the Lehigh Valley have a chance to hone their professional skills this summer.
Futuros Empresarios, Future Entrepreneurs in English, is a free, 5-week program run by the Fé Foundation, in partnership with Northampton and Lehigh Carbon community colleges. It’s for 10th and 11th graders from the Latino community, though other underrepresented groups can also apply.
Students spend a week living in dorms and attending workshops. Then, they do a month-long ‘externship’ at a local business like the Olympus Corporation, PPL, or the Davinci Science Center.
Fé Foundation Director, Myra Piña, said the program helps underserved youth turn their ambition into reality.
“They may be the first students in their family who have the possibility to go to college,” she said. “So our program lets them know it's not just a possibility, it could happen.”
Piña explained that the name of her organization is meant to bolster young Latinos.
“In Spanish, fé means faith, confidence,” she said. “The Fé Foundation has the confidence and trust that you will succeed in the future.”
Brandon Kwiatek is the assistant director of admissions at Northampton Community College. He said Futuros Empresarios encourages students to aim for high power jobs.
“You can’t realize it if you can’t imagine yourself doing it,” he said. “It’s about making sure that they see themselves in these roles as well.”
Futuros Empresarios is free, and offers a stipend. There is an information session on March 31.
Applications are due April 8.