Panel to Discuss Immigration Laws at Colorado State University as part of Immigration Day of Action April 19

Colorado State University’s Office of the Vice President for Diversity and ACCION, the Hispanic faculty and staff organization, are hosting Immigration Day of Action April 19 to discuss the impact of immigration on higher education. The event is part of a nationwide collective day of action led by Partnership for a New American Economy.

The event hopes to create awareness and spark change in America’s laws regarding immigrants’ ability to stay in America and apply their education following graduation from a U.S. college or university.

Joshua Zugish, an attorney with CSU’s Office of General Counsel; Isabel Rodriguez Thacker, counselor at Poudre High School; and Velia Muñoz, a senior graduating from CSU in May, will serve as panelists for the discussion on campus.

The event begins at 11:30 a.m. April 19 in Student Services 133. Lunch will be provided. RSVP to Gloria Rice at gloria.rice@colostate.edu.

Zugish, an associate legal counsel with Colorado State University System, provides counsel to a wide variety of campus departments related to student issues, risk management, regulatory compliance and litigation matters. Prior to joining the Office of the General Counsel in 2008, Zugish was in private practice as a civil litigator, primarily in the areas of business and real estate. Zugish currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Colorado Legal Aid Foundation and Executive Board of the Larimer County Bar Association.

Rodriguez Thacker was one of about 4,000 refugees who left Cuba for the United States in 1963 following Fidel Castro’s rise to power in 1959. Since then, she has worked in social service agencies and within the public education system helping undocumented children and families become productive citizens within society, have the same privileges as those with citizenship, and receive the tools to thrive in today’s society. Rodriguez Thacker has a Bachelor of Arts in social work and a Master of Education from Colorado State.

Born in Mexico and raised in Colorado, Muñoz graduated from Hinkley High School, an Alliance Partnership school, in 2009 and chose to attend Colorado State University. She will graduate this May with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish education. Muñoz is an Alliance Scholar, a Puksta Scholar and the first Alliance Partnership intern and first President of the Alliance Partnership Scholars. She has been to Africa on an Alternative Spring Break and will soon be heading to Nicaragua to work with school children. She also has been actively involved with the Hispanic Family Group at Hinkley High School.

To learn more about Immigration Day of Action, visit www.renewoureconomy.org.

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