This year, GM was among 30 teams to participate in the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Association Conference’s (HENAAC) College Bowl – a two-day interactive, high-energy competition, focused on showcasing the future leaders of America.

Over the past 24 years, HENAAC’s mission has been to identify, honor and document the contributions of outstanding Hispanic American science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) professionals. HENAAC has evolved to include additional activities such as career fairs, professional and student seminars, recognition events, technical poster competitions, and the much anticipated HENAAC College Bowl.

“GM has supported HENAAC as a founding corporate partner for most of the past 24 years and have looked to HENAAC to identify and hire Hispanic talent into GM,” said Joe Ponce, HENAAC key organization liaison for GM and GM Global Operations Quality executive director.

After a four year hiatus, GM returned to HENAAC as the platinum sponsor with the goal to reengage with top young STEM talent, increase GM’s visibility as an employer of choice, and strengthen GM’s impact on future conferences.

This year, the HENAAC College Bowl was held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort from Oct. 11 – 13. The HENAAC College Bowl provides a creative forum for students to showcase their skills and talents, teaches students important leadership and professional skills through carefully selected competition topics, and serves as a very effective method to identify top future leaders.

“It was incredibly exciting to see the creativity, enthusiasm and teamwork shown by the next generation of Hispanic STEM talent,” said Nydia Correa, GM HIT board member, Robust Engineering specialist.

GM HIT members Antoinette Fox, Jerry Villagrana, Nora Rincon, Noelia Correa and Nydia Correa led the GM team by mentoring, coaching and guiding a group of seven students from various national universities.

“The opportunity to mentor and guide the students in such a fun, competitive and interactive environment while representing GM was an amazing experience,” said Noelia Correa, GM HIT board member, Brake Component Development engineer.

GM has had a successful participation in the HENAAC College Bowl winning 3rd place in 2001 and 2008, and winning the Deal or No Deal Challenge in 2012. However, most importantly, GM inspired and mentored the next generation of Hispanic leaders.

This year, The New York Auto Show had a Latin flair for General Motors.

As part of the company’s commitment to Latinos and their growth, GM invited a group of students from the Bronx High School for the Visual Arts to experience the auto show and hear from GM representatives about creative design in the automotive industry.

The students participated in a GM “Learn it Live” luncheon where they learned about how GM designers create the new vehicle models, starting from colors and materials.

The group was welcomed as the special guests of the General Motors Diversity team. The luncheon included a presentation by Johanna Medina, one of the talented designers of the GMC Acadia. Medina shared her story of how she came to be a designer for GM and encouraged students to explore a career path in design.

Johanna was also joined by two GM designers Ven Lai and Michael Burton. Lai spoke about her experience as a GM designer and what inspired her to create the new 2013 Enclave. Burton, GM Exterior and Interior Design Director, highlighted his work on the exterior design of the Acadia Denali.

A select number of these students enjoyed a walk-through of the GM exhibit at the Auto Show and learned more about the company's products, innovation and design. Selim Bingol, GM Vice President, Global Communications, and Edward T. Welburn, GM Vice President of Global Design, spent time welcoming the students and answering their questions.