Colorado State University-Pueblo Boasts Two Students for HACU Leadership-in-Residence
Release Date: September 16, 2019
Two Colorado State University-Pueblo students have been awarded the opportunity to participate in the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Leadership-in-Residence program. Senior Megan Moore and sophomore Phillip Flores will represent CSU-Pueblo in the upcoming 33rd annual conference with HACU in October. During Hispanic Serving Institute (HSI) week, it remains especially exciting for CSU-Pueblo to be part of the HACU’s conference and have students appointed to this role.
Megan Moore ’20, Mass Communication major, is a Pueblo native and highly involved on the CSU-Pueblo campus. Moore is a work study student in the Student Engagement and Leadership (SEAL) office, involved with the publication of the CSU-Pueblo Today student newspaper, and a President’s Leadership Program (PLP) student.
“The first time I heard about HACU was when I came home from studying at Todos Santos. I was told to apply and I didn’t at the time, then I did this year and was so happy I got it,” said Moore.
Phillip Flores ’22, Mechatronics Engineering and Spanish major, is also a Pueblo native and a first generation college student. Flores currently holds the College of Education, Engineering and Professional Studies (CEEPS) student senator position with Associated Students’ Government (ASG) and is part of PLP.
“I heard about this opportunity in the SEAL office and because CSU-Pueblo is an HSI, I wanted to represent and give it a try,” said Flores.
Students selected to participate in the HACU Leadership-in-Residence program are led by Michelle Gjerde, the CSU-Pueblo HACU program advisor. Students involved in the program then are asked to lead campus initiatives to get other students on campus involved in HACU and showcase the opportunities that the internships, scholarships, and conferences bring for the student experience.
“I’m such a believer in this program, I’ve seen it change lives,” said Gjerde. “You don’t have to be Hispanic, it’s open to all students. All students can apply, your university just has to be an HSI.”
In addition to Moore and Flores attending, they will be joined by freshman Diego Duran ‘23, Biology, Daijah Palma ’23, Pre-Nursing, Veronika Marmolejo ’23, junior Jaime Huerta ’21, Athletic Training, and seniors Leanne Sanchez ’20 Psychology and Spanish, and Sean Regalado-Love ’20, Biology and Chemistry. The office of the President and Communities to Build Active STEM Engagement (CBASE) are sponsoring these students to attend the 33rd annual HACU conference in October. In total, CSU-Pueblo will be represented by eight students and five staff and faculty members at the conference.
For more information about HACU and the opportunities involved here on campus, please contact Michelle Gjerde in the Career Center at michelle.gjerde@csupueblo.edu or 719-549-2512.
