InteRDom and GFDD Present Programs to Hundreds of Student at the 4th National Dominican Student Conference

On the weekend of April 23, 2010, InteRDom met hundreds of Dominican-American students at the 4th National Dominican Student Conference held at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.  

This year’s Conference attracted close to 300 students to attend the workshops, activities and presentations that revolved around the 2010 theme, “Taking Dominicans Back to Their Roots.” Through a celebration of Dominican
culture, the organizers of this year’s conference, Quisqueya, hoped to foster unity among all Dominican students and motivate them to spread awareness of their rich culture to the various communities to which they pertain.  

“The Dominican Student Conference in one word is a movement,” said Carolina Romero, senior advisor to Quisqueya and Co-Chair of the Conference.  “It is a movement that began 4 years ago
at Yale, and it seeks to unite the Dominican collegiate community, to break down barriers and build bridges between our communities.”

This year’s program featured a keynote address by Vagnes De La Rosa, an expert in the field of Youth Development.  His “SENGAV System” has been used on a national level to promote positive virtues as an efficient set of tools for youth to accomplish their goals.  

InteRDom team members were present all weekend, meeting with students and stressing the importance of internships in their career plans.  The InteRDom program nicely complemented the theme of this year’s conference, as the program promotes career development through internships with Dominican organizations.  Through the program, students have the opportunity to develop their resumes, while giving back to the Dominican community on a large scale.
 

Yamile Eusebio, the New York Branch Director of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, participated in the workshop entitled “Moving Mountains” on Saturday morning, along with Eileen Parra, a civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Raymond Ratti, Founder and President of Transformative Global Learning and Alejandro Romero de la Cruz, Co-Founder of
the non-profit organization Casita Ayuda de Maria.  The four gave an inspiring presentation during which they discussed ways for each student to cultivate his or her own interests and passions and how to use them to give back to the Dominican Republic.  They also provided other helpful tips about career development and transitioning from the student to the working world.

This year’s conference was organized by Quisqueya, the Dominican
Student Association at Cornell University.   The association was founded in 1995 with the goal of spreading awareness on the Cornell campus about the Dominican experience and culture through workshops, banquets and activities.  

InteRDom and GFDD’s participation in the Conference is part of the efforts that GFDD and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic, FUNGLODE,
make to strengthen collaboration with the Dominican descendants and professionals living in the United States and abroad.