Central Valley students chosen to attend national conference in Washington, D.C.

Five students from the Central Valley were chosen to take part in a leadership conference that took place this week in Washington, D.C., the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute said.

The Latino youth leadership development and educational organization had its fifth annual R2L NextGen program from July 26 to July 31. The R2L NextGen program is an extension of CHCI’s intensive one-day Ready to Lead college readiness program.

The students chosen from Central Valley schools include: Angelica Mercado from Edison High School in Fresno, Destiny Murillo and Ashli Quintela from Le Grand High School in Le Grand, Kailani Sanchez from Merced High School and Marco Sanchez from Duncan Polytechnical High School in Fresno.

Seventy low-income high school students from 13 metro areas across the country were chosen to learn about how the federal government works, meet important leaders, visit historic sites and develop a deeper understanding of how they can affect positive change in their communities, the CHCI said.

“We are very proud to include high school students in the Washington, D.C., experience that we have been providing to college students and college graduates for nearly four decades,” said Esther Aguilera, CHCI president and CEO. “These 70 talented Latino high school students are eager to learn more about government and policy, as well as prepare themselves to be the leaders of tomorrow.”

This story was originally published August 1, 2015 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Central Valley students chosen to attend national conference in Washington, D.C.."