ADVANCE team members served on a panel presentation, focused on STEM disciplines, to over 100 high school seniors visiting campus as part of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) on July 11, 2015, on the UC Davis campus. The 2014 YLI Class Profile included the following attributes: Average GPA of 3.7; 79% will be the first in their family to earn a college degree; 53% selected a STEM or business major as their top choice.

YLI is a four-day, overnight college empowerment conference for Hispanic high school students designed to give them the practical tools they need to successfully apply to top universities, effectively access financial aid and scholarship opportunities, and excel in school and beyond. Selected students experience what it’s like to live on a college campus, participate in college and career workshops, interact with college students and various professionals who serve as mentors, and develop the skills to become leaders in their communities.

Presenters included:

Lillian Cruz-Orengo, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anatomy, Physiology & Cell Biology, University of California, Davis 

Karen McDonald, PhD, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Davis 

Raymond L. Rodriguez, PhD, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis