Wyoming Latina Youth Center

“The Power of Choice: A Positive Mindset for Growth, Leadership and Academic Success"

Wyoming Latina Youth Center Mission Statement:
‘To enrich and empower young Latinas through mentors, education and awareness’

The Wyoming Latina Youth Center (WLYC) is a non-profit organization focused on empowering young Latinas through mentorship and awareness. WLYCenter empowers young Latinas to achieve a successful transition to University of Wyoming by providing leadership opportunities to participate in innovative programs that address Wyoming’s Latina youths’ social, academic, and educational needs. WLYCenter believes in a future of Latinas where they are able to pursue their dreams, reach their goals, and acquire the skills and self-confidence to live a life of purpose, connection, contribution, and joy.

WLYCenter strives to provide faculty and student support in the areas of Research, Academics, Leadership, Community Engagement, Outdoor Education, Wellness and Spirituality. WLYCenter fosters a deeper understanding of Latina/o communities to empower faculty, students, and society to make better strategic decisions and contribute to Wyoming’s social, cultural, economic, and political development. Investing in the Latina/o children and youth that support and ensure equal opportunity to education and economic security will be foundational for shaping Wyoming’s future economic growth and health.

Our annual conference is held every October and features a welcome dinner banquet, cultural performances, educational workshops, and informational presentations. Workshops focus on Financial Literacy, STEM, Entrepreneurship, Mental Wellness, Cultural Arts, and Career Opportunities. The Wyoming Latina Youth Conference is open to all 5th-12th grade students of Latinx, Hispanic, Indigenous, Afro-Latinx, and mixed-blooded female identifying youth throughout the state of Wyoming.

Thank you for joining us at the 2022 WLYC Conference held October 14 and 15!

We would like to take this moment to personally thank our staff, board members, sponsors, school coordinators, chaperones, volunteers, workshop leaders, and college mentors. We couldn’t have done it without your support! Your contribution to the 2022 Wyoming Latina Youth Conference helped us provide wonderful and empowering experiences for Latinas and Latinx gender-expansive youth at the University of Wyoming.

This year we celebrated the WLYC 22nd anniversary and the launch of our new center. We are excited to report that the conference was a great success, with over 300 participants from 22 different schools throughout the State of Wyoming, our largest event to date. Your support helped us create a welcoming and safe atmosphere at UW so that young Latina women and Latinx gender-expanive youth in 5th through 12th grades could network and build relationships.

This year’s conference theme was “Exploring the 5-C’s of Leadership in the 21st Century:
Connections, Community, Conservation, Creativity, and Compassion.”

Our keynote speaker, Gina Núñez-Mchiri, Dean of San Diego State University-Imperial Valley, was uplifting and inspiring, sharing a message to create positive change in our communities!

In addition, this year’s featured guest artist was Jodie Hererra. Born into a family of artists with Chicana and Indigenous Apache ancestry. We chose her mural in downtown Laramie depicting Latinas and generational connections in the Latinx community for the cover of our program.

We are already busy planning for next year's conference. We hope to see you in 2023!

A schedule of the 2022 WLYC conference events can be found here.

The Wyoming Latina Youth Conference is held at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. It hosted by the Wyoming Latina Youth Center which is under the umbrella of the University of Wyoming and headed by Dr. Cecilia Aragón, Professor of Latino/Latina Studies.

Wyoming Latina Youth Center