GCCC Hispanic Student Day on Oct. 4
Garden City, KS, September 18, 2019--The Garden City Community College Hispanic American Leadership Organization (H.A.L.O) and GCCC Student Support Services (S.S.S.) will host our 32nd Annual Hispanic Student Day on Friday, Oct. 4, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Dennis Perryman Athletic Complex.
Registration is free for any students in grades nine through 12. Hispanic Student Day is a unique and special opportunity for students to become familiar with the GCCC campus, to meet with H.A.L.O. members and staff, and to learn about college processes. Various GCCC departments and student groups will present college information for the students in attendance. GCCC H.A.L.O. Alumni Hugo Perez and Ana Buruca will serve as featured speakers for this event. Free breakfast and lunch will be served for all students and sponsors in attendance. Contact Mela Vigil at 620-276-9660 or manuela.vigil@gcccks.edu to register. The final day to register is September 20, 2019.
Featured Speaker Hugo Perez
A native of Salina, Kan., Mr. Perez is a proud first generation Mexican-American and a first-generation college graduate. Hugo graduated from GCCC and Fort Hays State University (FHSU). During his time at GCCC, Hugo was a member of H.A.L.O., where he served as president 1997-98. Mr. Perez also participated in the Cheer Squad, where he was the captain his sophomore year. At FHSU, Hugo was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, a fraternity, H.A.L.O., and the FHSU Cheer Squad.
Mr. Perez has spent over 18 years in higher education as an admissions professional. Hugo has worked at GCCC, Dodge City Community College, and Hutchinson Community College as an admissions counselor. In Fall 2016, Hugo was honored as the Kansas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (KACRAO) Diane Barnes Mentor of the Year at the annual KACRAO Conference. That same year, he accepted his current position, FHSU Assistant Director of Admissions, his alma mater, where he also serves as the on-campus transfer coordinator.
During his time at FHSU, Mr. Perez has been a member of the steering committee and presenter for the Hispanic College Institute, a free, residential program that prepares high school Hispanic students to enter and succeed in higher education. He also serves as the coordinator for FHSU’s Access to Academic Opportunity Grant program that offers financial aid opportunities to first-generation college students.
Mr. Perez is also a graduate of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Latino Higher Education Leadership Institute.
Featured Speaker Ana S. Buruca
Mrs. Buruca is an immigrant from El Salvador in Central America. She graduated from Garden City High School in 1999 and received her associate degree from GCCC in 2001. During her studies at GCCC, she was a member of the National Honor Society, was a business manager for The Silhouette, was a co-president of H.A.L.O., and a GCCC alumni speaker for the 2001 graduation ceremony.
In 2005, she recognized a need and began an independent consulting and compliance company. Today, Buruca Trucking Services is a Department of Transportation (DOT) compliance firm that caters to the trucking industry, a multi-million-dollar industry providing services to small businesses located in Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, and Arkansas. While her business caters to the Midwest, her customers move freight from all over the world, making deliveries to the continuous 48 states and, in some cases, Canada and Mexico.
Mrs. Buruca's passions include her family, business, and writing. She believes in empowering others to “utilize all resources, muster strength, and lunge forward to brighter opportunities.”
For more information about H.A.L.O., SSS, or Hispanic Student Day, please contact Johana Gonzalez at 620-276-9674 or johana.gonzalez@gcccks.edu. Or contact Mela Vigil at 620-276-9660 or Manuela.vigil@gcccks.edu.
GCCC exists to produce positive contributors to the economic and social well-being of society.