A high-profile author and actress will lend star power to the University of Toledo’s 41st annual Conference for Aspiring Minority Youth.
The event, scheduled for Jan. 25, will feature Jason Reynolds, a prolific author in the youth and young adult genre. He will be featured alongside Diane Guerrero, an actress who has appeared in Orange Is the New Black , Disney’s Encanto , and the CW’s Jane the Virgin .
Sponsored by Toledo Excel, UT, and Owens Corning, the free, public conference is for students in grades 7 to 12 and parents. Advance registration is required and now open online .
“Jason was a major get for us because students at last year’s conference literally asked for him in our evaluation survey,” said David Young, director of Toledo Excel and special projects. “Many of them had been reading his novels as a class assignment, but even more often for their own enjoyment outside of class.”
“Beyond her great skill as an actress, [Ms. Guerrero] has an amazing story of overcoming against all odds,” Mr. Young said. “Her family was deported to Colombia when Diane was just 14. She literally came home from school to an empty house. Yet, look at what she has accomplished.”