As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, Penn State Berks will hold its 11th annual Latino Forum from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, in the college's Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to students from all Berks County high schools, as well as members of the local Hispanic and Latino community.

During the Latino Forum, Roy Juarez Jr. will deliver the keynote presentation, "My Bag, My Home," which will be followed by tours of the campus. Juarez founded the human development company IMPACTtruth Inc. in 2005 with a dream to inspire youths and reunite families by sharing his life story. In 2018, Juarez published "Homeless by Choice: A Memoir of Love, Hate, and Forgiveness," an account of his decision to be homeless again - this time by choice.

The mission of the Latino Forum is to empower Latino students to pursue higher education. The event is meant to provide inspiration and motivation for students by showing them that higher education is both desirable and attainable.

This event is supported by the Humanities Institute, the Berks Campus Student Initiated Fee, the Howard O. and Jean Beaver Endowment for Guest Lecturers at Berks Campus, and the Mrs. Harold McI. Grout and Mrs. C. Glenn Kauffman Endowment for the Arts.

For additional information, contact Donna Chambers, assistant teaching professor of Spanish, at 610-396-6332 or DMC6004@psu.edu.