Four Local U of A Talent Search Students to Attend National Congress

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l-r: Daniela Alvarado, Alexus Brock, Regan Flickinger and Tori Vetor

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Educational Talent Search program at the University of Arkansas will send four students and two staff members to this year’s National Student Leadership Congress in Washington, D.C., from June 6-11.

The students are Daniela Alvarado from Springdale High School, Alexus Brock from McDonald County High School in Anderson, Missouri, Regan Flickinger from Lincoln High School and Tori Vetor from Gentry High School. They are among 150 rising high school juniors and seniors selected from Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search programs, two of the federally funded college access and success programs known as TRiO that serve almost a million students in the U.S. and its territories.

Whitney Srsen and Xong Lor

University of Arkansas Talent Search staff members Whitney Srsen and Xong Lor are two of the 12 selected nationally to serve as mentors during the Leadership Congress.

This year the event will be hosted at Georgetown University. The students will take part in a Mock Congress and visit D.C. monuments, museums and the Library of Congress. Sessions have been scheduled with members of Congress or their staffs. In addition, TRiO alumni in the Washington area will visit with students to talk about their transition to and experiences in college, as well as share how TRiO programs prepared them for professional jobs on Capitol Hill. 

This is the 26th year of the Student Leadership Congress, which is presented by the Council for Opportunity in Education. The focus of the National Student Leadership Congress is to develop service-oriented leaders and to empower students to advocate for educational issues that affect their communities and the nation.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.