FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 2, 2006

Emmy and Golden Globe Winner Kicks off the Nations Largest Hispanic internship program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nation’s largest Hispanic internship program held their annual summer orientation early June. Emmy and Golden Globe winner, Manuel Medrano, was the keynote speaker at this year’s orientation. Mr. Medrano covers the Supreme Court and provides legal analysis for all ABC News broadcasts. 

Mr. Medrano came to ABC News in 2004 from KNBC in Los Angeles, where he was a general assignment reporter, focusing on legal issues for NBC4 Channel 4 News. There he provided legal analysis and commentary for the station’s comprehensive coverage of the trials of O.J. Simpson, the Menendez Brothers, Reginald Denny and Rodney King, among others. In 1995 his coverage of the Simpson case earned him an Emmy Award and Golden Mike Award.

Since 1992, the acclaimed Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities National Internship Program, or HNIP, has  provided over 6,000 internships to students in both the public and private sectors. This summer approximately 400 top college students will participate in paid internships with 21 federal agencies and 7 corporations this summer. A majority of HNIP interns arrive each year from among HACU’s more than 450 member colleges and universities, which collectively serve more than two-thirds of all Hispanic higher education students.

A program hailed each year as an enviable recruitment tool by participating employers, HNIP was established to reverse the under-representation of Hispanics in public and private sector workforce ranks. Each year, dozens of interns say yes to full-time job offers after completing 10 summer  and 15 fall and spring week assignments matching their career interests.

“This remarkable program opens doors to rewarding careers for our students each year, and provides opportunities for employers to build a workforce that better reflects the rapidly changing demographics of our country,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores.

“HACU applauds the dozens of government agencies and corporations participating in this outstanding program each year for contributing to its extraordinary record of success,” Flores said.

“HACU is proud of the remarkable caliber of this summer’s interns, who boast an average GPA of 3.3 –placing them among the top ranks of all college students,” said William Rafael Gil, HACU Assistant Vice President of Collegiate Programs and Federal Relations, who oversees the Washington, D.C.-based program.

“More than half are seniors and graduate students eager to prove themselves to potential employers in challenging fields that range from finance, science and foreign affairs to engineering, research and technology,” Gil said.

HNIP also has given rise to an increasingly active alumni association whose members each year participate in community volunteer activities, while also acting as role models and mentors to new interns.

“The HACU Alumni Association has developed a remarkably effective network sharing their school, internship and job experiences through regular meetings, an alumni newsletter and a continually updated Internet presence at http://www.hnip.net/,” said HNIP Director Alexandria Rosales.

“Our former interns are becoming after-school tutors, collecting donations for local food banks and encouraging Hispanic youngsters to pursue a college education,” Rosales said. “It’s also immensely gratifying to see so many of our former interns promote the importance of HNIP to future interns. Our alumni are our best testimony to the terrific success of this program.”

The 15-week fall HNIP session begins August 24, 2006, the fall application deadline is June 16, 2006.

For more information, contact HNIP Director Alexandria Rosales at (202) 467-0893, or visit www.hnip.net. For more information about HACU, visit www.hacu.net.

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