Grays Harbor College will host the 15th annual Latinx Youth Summit on Friday.

More than 400 high school students from Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties will be attending the daylong event, which is sponsored by the Hispanic Roundtable of South Sound. This year’s theme is “Free to dream/Libres para sonar.”

Luis Ortega, who works with colleges and school districts to help harness the power of narrative for positive social change, will give the keynote address. Each student then will attend three workshop sessions, plus an exhibitor fair during the lunch break.

Workshop topics include applying for college and financial aid, federal immigration policy, relationship skills and many others.

The Hispanic Roundtable of South Sound is a multicultural, multi-agency collaboration to help strengthen the Latino community through partnerships, education, community building and cultural responsibility. The HRT has sponsored the Latinx Youth Summit since 2003 in partnership with GHC, Centralia College, South Puget Sound Community College, St. Martin’s University and the Evergreen State College.

Ortega will also give a public presentation on the GHC campus today. His lecture, sponsored by the GHC Diversity and Equity Center, will begins at noon in Schermer Room 4134 and is open to the public. In addition to consulting and lecturing, Ortega is a noted TEDx speaker about using storytelling as a human-centered strategy.

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Latinx schedule

7:30-8:30 a.m.

Registration at Bishop Center

8:30-9:45 a.m.

Welcome and keynote at Bishop Center

10-10:45 a.m.

Session 1 in Schermer building

11-11:45 a.m.

Session 2 at Schermer building

11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

Lunch at Hillier Union building

and Exhibitor Fair at the gym

1:15 to 2 p.m.

Session 3 in Schermer building

2-2:45 p.m.

Closing in Schermer Room 4134