On Friday, Feb. 3, the Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA), had its first meeting on campus since establishing a new chapter at the University of Denver.
The meeting was led by current ALPFA President, Marisol Jara-Amparan. Jara-Amparan led the discussion into what ALPFA is, beginning with its mission: to “empower and develop Latino men and women as leaders of character for the nation, in every sector of the global economy,” according to Jara-Amparan.
After the brief overview of the purpose of ALPFA, Jara-Amparan explained her duties as president. Her job is to organize and lead her e-board while carrying out the mission. She wants to create an environment on campus for Latinos to have the professional guidance and resources that Latino communities often lack on college campuses.
The rest of the executive board for the DU ALPFA chapter was introduced. The current vice president is Catherine Padilla, Alyssa Avila serves as the secretary, Edgar Saenz is the treasurer and Alyssa Aragon is the social media manager. Special guests from the professional Denver ALPFA chapter were present. The Director of Student Affairs, Jorge Velasquez, introduced himself and stated that his role is to “connect with students like you.” He is a resource for individual college chapters around Colorado.
They also explained the goals of the chapter. There are three main purposes: empowering, networking and community. Empowering involves better performing and preparing for positions of future leaders as well as focusing on mentorship and scholarship opportunities for students. Networking revolves around connection opportunities at local, regional and national events. This includes connecting with students on campus. Lastly, the community focuses on the professional and on-campus community, building community at national conventions and local student summits and developing meaningful relationships.
The e-board also noted that ALPFA is “here for you.” Their focus will be on catering their events to different majors, helping to develop professional relationships with communities around DU and connecting with different departments at DU in order to better support students.
Overall, ALPFA had an amazing turnout of students who were ready to engage and learn about this new resource centered on aiding DU’s Latino community. It is not too late to get involved. ALPFA introduced several tentative events coming in the future, including a fun ice skating social at DU coming at the end of February and a potential professional STEM panel. Click here to be notified of future events and to connect with DU’s ALPFA chapter.
