June 23, 2008 – Soccer players from around the state will come together Saturday, June 28 at the University of Utah for the 2nd annual soccer tournament of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Proceeds from the tournament, organized by the Utah Chapter of SACNAS, will provide scholarships to help students attend the national conference to be held in Salt Lake City this fall. This is the first time the national conference will be held in Utah.
SACNAS was founded in 1974 to encourage Chicano/Latino and Native American students to pursue graduate education and obtain the advanced degrees necessary for science research, leadership and teaching careers at all levels. SACNAS creates pathways to higher education, and in particular graduate school, by providing scholarships and mentors to students who have been historically underrepresented in the sciences. SACNAS is actively working with the Utah community and campus partners to organize the national conference and is supporting the soccer tournament to be held at the University of Utah’s north soccer field. The tournament will run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
“Our goal is for the University of Utah SACNAS Chapter to mentor students, work with the community and also work with high school students to get them motivated into the science and math areas,” said Moises Terrazas, Utah Chapter of SACNAS president. Registration fees from the tournament will also help fund services at the conference for volunteers and a mentorship program for high school students from across the state.
Interested individuals or teams are encouraged to register for a full day of games, information, booths and festivities. The public is encouraged to watch and learn more about SACNAS, the mentorship programs and other services the national organization and their partners offer.
This year’s SACNAS national conference will be held from Oct. 9-12 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. There will be 2,000 attendees including undergraduate students, professors and notable members of the scientific community from throughout the country. Three hundred high school students from around the state of Utah have been invited to attend through the different Utah school districts with the help of Janice Jones Schroeder, supervisor, Multicultural Education/MESA/World Languages, Salt Lake City School District.
“SACNAS is all about increasing the number of students of color in institutions of higher education and committing to their education in various science fields from biology to sociology and from chemistry to political science. It is exciting to know that we will be welcoming over 2,000 young scholars–Chicanas/os, American Indians, African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders–to our city for the upcoming SACNAS Conference,” said Dr. Theresa Martinez, associate vice president for academic outreach at the University of Utah.
For more information contact Moises Terrazas at 801-598-4117, Ricardo Montenegro at 801- 808- 8829 or visit http://www.sacnas.org/.