- 303 Haggar College Center
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574) 284-4579 - Director of Media Relations
Gwen O'Brien
gobrien@saintmarys.edu
La Casa to Celebrate GED graduation at Saint Mary's
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
La Casa to Celebrate GED graduation at Saint Mary's College
Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Ind.
(574) 284-4579
May 7, 2010 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—Saint Mary’s Commencement isn’t until May 15, but there will be a graduation at the College this weekend. La Casa de Amistad, a charitable organization that operates a community center in South Bend for Hispanic youth and adults, will have its GED (General Educational Development) graduation at the College on Saturday, May 8. Seventeen GED students (average age of 33 years old) will receive their high school equivalency diplomas. The event will take place from 10-11:30 a.m. in Vander Vennet Theatre on the lower level of the Student Center. The media is invited to cover this event.
La Casa offers various educational opportunities to the Hispanic community in addition to its GED courses, including classes that develop leadership skills and self esteem, increase knowledge and appreciation of the Hispanic culture, and encourage fuller participation as community members. Saint Mary's College is one of La Casa’s community partners. The College's Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership (CWIL) is hosting the graduation through its new Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI) as part of its efforts to reach out to South Bend’s Latina community.
“We salute these graduates and the hard work they have put in to earn their GEDs. This is just another example of the vital educational and life skills programming that La Casa has been offering to the South Bend community since its inception in 1973,” said Elaine Meyer-Lee, director of CWIL. “Given our mission of educating women to make a difference in the global community, Saint Mary’s is happy to partner with La Casa both to further assist their clients, and to raise awareness of their great work, especially in this time of increasing need and decreasing funding.”
The College’s outreach to the local Hispanic community includes this fall’s “Latina Expo 2010--A Celebration of the Entrepreneurial Spirit.” The event will take place at Saint Mary’s on October 23, 2010 and will be hosted by CWIL.
For information on La Casa, click here.
About the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative: In October 2009, Saint Mary's College received a $245,000 Small Business Administration (SBA) two-year grant to support women’s entrepreneurship in the South Bend area. Through the grant the College’s Department of Business Administration and Economics and the Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership developed the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative or WEI. WEI’s purpose is to partner with community businesses, non-profits and organizations to provide financial and business education services to women entrepreneurs, while also offering educational and consulting experiences for Saint Mary’s College students.
About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. Saint Mary’s College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary's College ranks among the nation's top 100 liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report's 2010 annual survey. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.
