Former United States Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona spoke to the Hispanic Student and Latinx Association (HLSA) final event of the year on Wednesday. The event was moderated by HSLA President Karyna Cortes Lopez.
The topic of the discussion was “Somos el futuro: A conversation on Latinos in Leadership”. Dr. Cardona spoke about belonging and the challenges he faced as a Latino man in higher education and government. During this talk Dr. Cardona shared many pieces of advice encouraging students to embrace their “bilingualism as a superpower” and to be “unapologetically you.”
Dr. Cardona noted his achievements on the State level as Commissioner of Education in Connecticut. His tenure was defined by the start of pandemic where schools were transitioned to remote learning. Dr. Cardona noted how Connecticut was the first state to give laptops to every student during the pandemic. Former President Joe Biden nominated then Commissioner Cardona to be his Secretary of Education before the start of his term.
During his talk Dr. Cardona received applause for noting he got onto the President’s radar on his achievements and merits not by donating millions of dollars to the President’s election campaign unlike his “predecessor and successor.”
Dr. Cardona is a Meriden of Connecticut native of Puerto Rican Heritage. He started his career teaching in Meriden, where rose up to become a high school principal and later Superintendent of schools in Meriden.
