FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Kate Skegg (630) 696-5864 Spanish Speaking: Cynthia Brito (630) 808-5835 info@latinaconference.org Dare to Dream: Get Educated! Conference, January 28, 2017 One-day Conference to Empower Latina Middle School Girls Glen Ellyn, IL (Jan 25, 2017). The ninth annual ‘Dare to Dream: Get Educated!’ Conference, geared toward preparing young Latinas to further their education, will be at the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn on January 28, 2017. 800 girls and women from DuPage County and Suburban Cook County will hear Latina role models in successful careers talk about how they dealt with obstacles to achieve their dream of a better life through higher education. The non-profit Dare to Dream: Get Educated! organization was created because statistics indicate that in DuPage County, Latina girls drop out of high school at a rate that is more than four times higher than that of their non-Latina white peers. This year’s opening keynote speaker is Susana A. Mendoza, Illinois Comptroller. Susana A. Mendoza became the first Hispanic to ever run for and win a statewide elected office in Illinois as a Democrat. Prior to her election as Illinois Comptroller, Mendoza was the first woman ever elected to the office of the Clerk of the City of Chicago. In a field still often dominated by men, Mendoza credits her tenacity to get things done to her time as the only girl soccer player on an all-boys soccer team in elementary school. The Dare to Dream: Get Educated! Conference will also feature a series of workshops and panels on careers, college life and navigating the U.S. educational system. Maria Duque, Dare to Dream: Get Educated! board member, will deliver the closing message. Duque has been involved with Dare to Dream for several years, first as a high school panelist talking to eighth grade girls about the importance of graduating from high school and going to college, and now as a career panelist talking about how to overcome obstacles to become successful. Duque, a young mother and graduate, is continuing her education in the medical field. The Dare to Dream: Get Educated! Conference is made possible by grants from the DuPage Foundation, support from the College of DuPage, funding from local branches of AAUW (American Association of University Women), Molex LLC and by many individual donations. School registration is now closed. For further information visit: www.latinaconference.org.

1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Kate Skegg (630) 696-5864
Spanish Speaking: Cynthia Brito (630) 808-5835
info@latinaconference.org
Dare to Dream: Get Educated! Conference, January 28, 2017
One-day Conference to Empower Latina Middle School Girls
Glen Ellyn, IL (Jan 25, 2017). The ninth annual ‘Dare to Dream: Get Educated!’ Conference,
geared toward preparing young Latinas to further their education, will be at the McAninch Arts
Center, College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn on January 28, 2017. 800 girls and women from DuPage
County and Suburban Cook County will hear Latina role models in successful careers talk about
how they dealt with obstacles to achieve their dream of a better life through higher education.
The non-profit Dare to Dream:Get Educated! organization was created becausestatistics indicate
that in DuPage County, Latina girls drop out of high school at a rate that is more than four times
higher than that of their non-Latina white peers.
This year’s opening keynote speaker is Susana A. Mendoza, Illinois Comptroller. Susana A.
Mendoza became the first Hispanic to ever run for and win a statewide elected office in Illinois as
a Democrat. Prior to her election as Illinois Comptroller, Mendoza was the first woman ever
elected to the office of the Clerk of the City of Chicago. In a field still often dominated by men,
Mendoza credits her tenacity to get things done to her time as the only girl soccer player on an
all-boys soccer team in elementary school.
The Dare to Dream:Get Educated! Conference will also feature a series of workshops and panels
on careers, college life and navigating the U.S. educational system.
Maria Duque, Dare to Dream: Get Educated! board member, will deliver the closing message.
Duque has been involved with Dare to Dream for several years, first as a high school panelist
talking to eighth grade girls about the importance of graduating from high school and going to
college, and now as a career panelist talking about how to overcome obstacles to become
successful. Duque, a young mother and graduate, is continuing her education in the medical
field.
The Dare to Dream: Get Educated! Conference is made possible by grants from the DuPage
Foundation, support from the College of DuPage, funding from local branches of AAUW
(American Association of University Women), Molex LLC and by many individual donations.
School registration is now closed. For further information visit: www.latinaconference.org.
# # #