Walmart supports transformational NHI experience for 49 students in four states

Thanks to support from Walmart, 49 students in all (25 from Texas, four from Oklahoma, 19 from Illinois and one from Iowa) won scholarships to support their attendance at National Hispanic Institute’s leadership programs this past summer. 

The Walmart grant, totaling $27,500, supported two of NHI’s Lorenzo de Zavala (LDZ) Youth Legislative Session programs and the Midwest Great Debate.

The LDZ, as participants call it, is an innovative, immersive learning experience for students between 10th and 11th grade, in which they form parties, run for offices, and upon forming executive, legislative and judicial branches, work to pass legislation involving the Latino community in the U.S. and beyond. 

“Walmart’s core values are built on pillars of service, leadership, and community,” said Ahmed Young, Director of Public and Government Affairs for Walmart. “The work NHI is spearheading aligns with our mission and we value such an incredible partnership, particularly when it comes to developing youth leaders.”

Throughout NHI’s history, more than 100,000 students have attended its select programs for high-performing high school students, including the Great Debate program for rising sophomores (built around speech and debate competitions), and the Collegiate World Series (built around the college application process and inquiry as a tool for strategic decision-making.”

A number of NHI alumni – adult, college student, and high school volunteers – staff the programs to give back to NHI and support the next generation of Latino leaders. 

“NHI is grateful to Walmart for its continued support of this important program,” said Nicole Nieto, Executive Vice President of NHI. “Walmart has made an impactful difference in our work developing future leaders, and we’re proud of the students who were inspired by the curriculum and by each other this summer. 

NHI specializes in building asset-based thinking among future leaders through a community equity-building approach to advancing Latino quality of life. The Institute’s programs help students recontextualize their value and the role they can play in advancing our society. This is achieved during residential programs that promote learning as a competition-based experience. Students find NHI programs to be transformative, and for 98 percent of participants, it’s a bridge to higher education enrollment and the first step toward a broad array of leadership roles in their communities and careers of choice. 

NHI, founded in 1979 with a mission to develop Latino leaders for the 21st century, is currently preparing to host 12 residential leadership experiences in Texas, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois, and Pennsylvania in 2025, continuing to build on the educational work the organization began with its first pilot program in 1982.