Weber State University will be hosting the Latinos in Action Conference of 2023 for seventh through 12th graders on March 6, and they are in need of volunteers.

The conference, which WSU has been hosting for over ten years, will involve influential Latino and Hispanic speakers, including former NASA astronaut José Moreno Hernández as the keynote speaker.

The event will also include the announcement of the winners of the LIA scholarship, musical and dance performances by attendees, a short film competition, a visual arts competition and a writing competition.

The theme of the event this year is “Stand4More.” The theme uses the General Sherman Tree in the Sequoia National Park in California as an analogy for the Latino community, with widespread roots that entangle with those of other trees to strengthen everyone.

“We stand for more than what others see,” José Enriquez, founder of Latinos in Action, said. “We stand for more than what others want us to be. We stand for a lot more than what we’ve accomplished. We cannot settle. We stand for familia. We stand for community. We stand for those that can’t. We stand for the hopeless. We stand for the unseen and the unknown. We stand for the immigrants. We stand for the voiceless. We stand for so much more.”

Though the event is for seventh through 12th graders, the LIA Conference needs at least 15 volunteers to help facilitate this event. Volunteers for this event are tasked with guiding buses to the Browning Center, sitting in on workshops, supervising lunches, and answering questions from attendees.

The goal of this event is to create community ties for Latino students and to involve them in WSU early on. As of right now, WSU reports that 11% of students are Hispanic or Latino.

The event will take place all over WSU’s Ogden campus but will mainly be held in the Shepherd Union and the Browning Center. Anyone attending the event will need to follow a business-wear dress code.

WSU students, staff and faculty are all eligible to register as a volunteer for this event. The application to volunteer is available on their website, http://lialeadershipconference.org. The deadline for applications is Feb. 28. Students and teachers are able to register for the event on their website.