:: About Us - History ::
In 1983, a group of dedicated students concerned with the future of Hispanics in New York City and throughout our country, decided to take action. Their goals were to In 1983, a group of dedicated students concerned with the future of Hispanics in New York City and throughout our country, decided to take action. Their goals were to unite all Latino students, share cultural ideas, achieve educational values leading to academic enrichment, and to become role models for our Hispanic youth. In the hopes of reaching their goal, they established the Latin American Engineering Student Association (LAESA) at The City College of New York (CCNY).
Prior to the establishment of LAESA in 1974, The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) was founded in Los Angeles as a national non-profit organization. Today, SHPE is the oldest and largest Hispanic engineering, scientific, and technical organization in the nation. SHPE is a direct membership organization and has over 200 student and professional chapters nationwide. SHPE members are community leaders who never forget their roots; they proudly serve in a nationwide network of volunteers who act as tutors, mentors, and role models to Hispanic youth.
In 1986, LAESA merged with SHPE, becoming LAESA-SHPE, one of the most active and largest student organizations at The City College of New York. LAESA-SHPE is also one of the most active chapters in the eastern region of our nation. LAESA-SHPE members are student leaders organized with the commitment of helping all Hispanics to achieve their educational and professional goals. Our mission is to succeed in education and be professionally profound and our principles are: Support, Teamwork, Excellence, and Professionalism (STEP).
LAESA-SHPE has served as a role model organization to The City College of New York and SHPE student chapters. We have hosted fourteen successful Pre-College Engineering Day (PCED) events. We have also hosted FIRST LEGO League for the past six (6) years. This year we are hosting the official Manhattan FIRST LEGO League Qualifier. These programs are updated each semester and provide vital services to our members, high school students and the Hispanic community of New York City.
Additional programs that run every year include the Developing Excellence in Academics and Leadership (DEAL) program, which focuses on academic improvement and promoting higher education. Our past involvement includes: Ayudame!!!, a weekend which exposes Hispanics of all ages to technology while teaching them practical uses and the benefits of pursuing a technical career and the Pre-University program, which allowed us to mentor, tutor and serve as role models to young minorities in our community. Currently, we participate in bi-monthly community outreach events such as canned food drives, AIDS and Cancer walks such as New York Cares and Relay for Life. This year we are proud to announce the establishment of our SHPE Jr. Chapter at the Bronx Engineering & Technology Academy (BETA) High School. The SHPE Jr. Chapter will allow us to more personally provide the positive influence necessary to ensure the progress of young Hispanics.