SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Hundreds of college students from throughout the United States will meet at a national conference in California in October to shop for jobs, scholarships, professional development and career networking opportunities.

More than 100 employers, scholarship, internship and career advisors will be on hand to meet these students at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ (HACU) 17th Annual Conference “Hispanic Higher Education Success: America’s Path to the Future,” October 18-21 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California.

For college students and recent graduates of every age and ethnicity, HACU’s annual conferences provide a four-day array of workshops, free Career Fairs, information on the latest college and career trends, and personal and professional development workshops. The conference also will allow them to network with their peers from throughout the country.

“Because this year’s conference is in Anaheim, higher education students from California will have a tremendous opportunity to benefit from an event that will bring employers, advisors, experts and their peers from other colleges and universities to a single, convenient setting,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “HACU is eager to provide these students this extraordinary opportunity to enhance their college and career success.”

Already, college students around the country are applying online at www.hacu.net for sponsored scholarships to cover the costs of their registration fees, and in some instances lodging and transportation costs, to attend the conference. The conference also offers discounted student registration fees, as well as a free daily Career Fair open to every college student and recent graduate. Many students also attend as Student Ambassadors sponsored by their home campuses.

As in previous years at annual conferences in cities such as San Antonio, San Diego, Albuquerque, New York, Washington, D.C., Miami, Denver and San Juan, Puerto Rico, conference sponsors and exhibitors are eager to focus their attention on higher education students in the host state.

The conference will also highlight the HACU National Internship Program. The nation’s largest Hispanic college internship program each year provides paid corporate and federal agency internships to hundreds of top college students. For many program participants, internships later have led to full-time employment offers.

Conference sponsors and Career Fair exhibitors have offered students on-the-spot jobs, scholarships and paid internships. Many of the peer networks established among students representing dozens of higher education institutions at past conferences remain in place today.

HACU’s 17th Annual Conference, “Hispanic Higher Education Success: America’s Path to the Future,” will also highlight the latest trends and information on Hispanic higher education. For students, this translates into a unique opportunity to interact with national leaders, researchers, advocates, peers and role models in Hispanic higher education.

HACU represents more than 300 colleges and universities serving the largest concentrations of Hispanic higher education students in the United States.

For more information, contact HACU Director of Communications Daniel Casillas at HACU national headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, at (210) 692-3805. Ext. 3249 (dcasillas@hacu.net). Or visit www.hacu.net.