MiraCosta College will host an anticipated 300 area Latino boys at the 9th Annual Encuentros Educational & Career Exploration Conference, to take place on Saturday, October 27, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at the college’s Oceanside Campus, located at 1 Barnard Drive.

This year’s conference theme is “The Past, The Present and The Future,” and as always, is aimed at increasing the number of Latinos in higher education. Featured speaker will be Encuentros Founder/Chief Operations Officer Roberto Rivas, and Attorney Pablo C. Palomino. Master of ceremonies will be local TV reporter Artie Ojeda.

Concurrent conferences will be held at MiraCosta and Palomar colleges, with the expectation that between the two campuses, more than 1,000 local Latino boys will attend. The conference is free of charge.

Latinos are the youngest, largest and fastest growing ethnic population in America, yet 53% of Latino boys in California do not finish high school. This alarming statistic is but one indicator of how the changing demographics of Hispanics in our society will impact the global economy.

Encuentros Leadership, founded in 2003 by Robert Rivas, aims to bring successful Latinos in business, education and government face-to-face with these at-risk children, in order to encourage them to continue with their education and expose them to different career options. Student participants from local middle and high schools will have the opportunity to meet with Latino professionals and start thinking about their future career.

To register, go to www. encuentrosleadership.org. For more information, contact Lisa Montes at lmontes@miracosta.edu or call 760.757.2121 x6396.