Saint Leo University and NHI team up to host International CWS

Saint Leo University is the National Hispanic Institute’s latest university partner. The university, located in the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida, metropolitan area, will host the 2017 International Collegiate World Series (CWS) program from June 28 to July 2. An expected 125 students from Panama and across the United States, including contingents from Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and Texas, will converge on the town of St. Leo for the conference.

“We are excited about our newly established partnership with Saint Leo University in Florida,” said Zachary Gonzalez, NHI’s Collegiate World Series and Collegiate Affairs director. “The beautiful, close-knit, and kindhearted community of leaders at Saint Leo reflect the values our organization looks for in finding a home for an experience that will transform hundreds of student leaders from across the United States and Latin America.”

“When we first began talking about partnering with the National Hispanic Institute, what struck us was that we are an institution that lives its values, and so is NHI,” said Robert Quinn, the university’s vice president of Business Development. “At Saint Leo University, we embrace all students of character who are serious about their education. We are a small community with a personal connection for student learning. We are also interested in innovating what’s best for students, and NHI is an organization that can help us serve a new segment of Americans and population of students.”

In partnering with Saint Leo University, one of the largest Catholic universities in the nation, NHI continues its focus on recruiting and developing Florida high school students as future Latino leaders. For instance, Hillsborough County Public Schools — the Tampa-headquartered school district that is the third largest in Florida and eighth largest in the nation — will send a number of its top students to NHI programs for the fourth straight year.

Gonzalez also expects that this partnership with a prominent Catholic university will help further draw Catholic high school students toward NHI, given the opportunity the International CWS will afford them to see Saint Leo firsthand. While the university has more than 14,000 students at its more than 40 teaching locations and online, about 2,000 are enrolled and take classes at the campus north of Tampa.

“We are delighted to be working with Saint Leo University to welcome our future leaders to participate in the CWS program,” said NHI executive vice president Nicole Sada. “The Saint Leo leadership team strongly supports the development of our youth and is playing a key support role in making advanced college readiness training possible for deserving students. We thank Saint Leo for its involvement in our mission.”

The Collegiate World Series program is made possible in part through State Farm’s sponsorship.