HPGM Announces Two Major Initiatives

On the heels of National Mentoring Month, I want to stress the positive power mentoring has throughout the year. By offering your time and wisdom to students and young professionals, you are helping lay the groundwork for not only their future success, but also the success of communities overall.

We believe in the power of positivity and creating greater connections. That’s the sentiment we subscribe to every day at Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee (HPGM). Throughout the calendar year, we offer programs, scholarships, networking and mentoring opportunities that enrich students and young professionals to reach their greatest potential.

Along with supporting future leaders of tomorrow with mentoring opportunities, we at HPGM offer scholarships to hard-working college students to help jump-start their success. Since 2004, HPGM has awarded almost $350,000 in advanced degree scholarships to deserving Hispanic students. And thanks to our partners, we began awarding undergraduate scholarships to sophomore students in 2016.

In addition to the scholarships we award, HPGM runs several leadership programs that are built on a mentoring foundation. CLEO, the Consortium of Leading Employee Organizations, was launched in 2015. In partnership with Dr. Robert Rodriguez, we work with corporate employee resource and diversity groups to select talented professional individuals to participate in programming with a focus on best practices and engagement; all in an effort to connect the right talent with the right working opportunity.

Plus, we are happy to announce two major initiatives. First, we are adding UW-Madison to our now ten student HPGM chapters across Wisconsin, all of which provide tools and networking opportunities to help Hispanic college students secure the professional internships they need to thrive in today’s ever changing business world.

Secondly, HPGM is proud to be launching the Hispanic Leadership Institute in partnership with Marquette University later this summer. Through this partnership, HPGM’s goals are to increase the number of diverse candidates that move from early career to mid-level management by fostering mentorships that promote problem-solving skills within the areas of leadership, conflict management, feedback, communication styles and financial literacy.

We invest in partnerships like these because know by helping students build their resume and develop valuable real-world working skills, they are more likely to complete their degree, secure strong full-time employment and launch promising professional careers. We see, share, and celebrate not only their individual success, but in the lasting marks they make in partnership with the organizations who employ them, and the contributions to the communities they live in.

To help us award scholarships and offer mentoring programs, we will again be hosting our annual fundraising Gala in May. To share her message of encouragement, support and resilience, Sonia Manzano, also known as the iconic “Maria” from Sesame Street, will be our featured speaker. Her familiar message of kindness, overcoming adversity, and resilience is one many of us heard from her in our living rooms when growing up, and is a fundamental message we all need to hear again as adults.

We encourage all organizations and businesses to see the far-reaching value of mentoring and inclusion and offer our assistance to any and all businesses that seek help and advice to make these connections a reality.

Griselda Aldrete is the President & CEO of Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee (HPGM).

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.