Students from more than 20 San Joaquin Valley middle and high schools attended the "si se puede" conference at the Satellite Student Union.
During the event, professionals who serve as role models encourage attendees to pursue college and career opportunities.
There were 14 career workshops from medicine and architecture to engineering, education and law enforcement.
The event was founded 17 years ago because statistics indicated young Latino males were not entering college or were not prepared to do so, while young Latinas were attending and completing college in higher numbers.
The event is co-sponsored by the Association of Mexican American Educators, Fresno State's University Outreach Services and the Fresno County Office of Education.
