NHI announces partnership with CSU-Pueblo for new Colorado Great Debate

The National Hispanic Institute, providing Latino leadership education programs to top-performing high school students in the United States, Mexico, Latin American and South American countries, will partner with Colorado State University-Pueblo to present the brand new Colorado Great Debate program, for a projected 150 high school students between their freshman and sophomore years, starting this summer.

The program, taking place June 27-July 2, 2019, is the first part of a three-year leadership curriculum designed to engage and develop youth who demonstrate early promise as community leaders. The Great Debate is designed to help students advance their communications skills, increase their self-confidence in public speaking, and develop critical thinking and analytic skills.

“We’re excited to partner with Colorado State University-Pueblo to launch the Colorado Great Debate,” said Chris Nieto, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for NHI. “The Great Debate program is the launchpad for our Latino leadership programming, and we feel that CSU-Pueblo will provide young leaders in this increasingly vital Latino region a home to begin their training.”

“When we were asked to consider the possibility of becoming a host site for a new Great Debate program in Colorado, we immediately knew this matched with our new vision of becoming the People’s University of the Southwest United States,” said Chrissy Holiday, Vice President of Enrollment Management, Communication, and Student Affairs at CSU-Pueblo. “Helping young people realize their potential and achieve their dreams is what CSU-Pueblo is about, and we wanted to be part of making this opportunity available to the youth of Southern Colorado and beyond. We look forward to welcoming participants to our campus and developing a long-standing relationship with them that helps make going to college a given for every young leader who visits.”

NHI’s high school programs have an impressive track record, with 98 percent of participants going on to college, and 90 percent of those completing a degree within five years of enrollment. Its alumni lead in a range of professional roles in their communities, including education, entrepreneurship, government, health care, law, and technology.