Subscribe
Subscribe
04/19/2010
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar addressed the 15th Annual Forum on Hispanic Higher Education today in Washington D.C. The Secretary himself is one of eight children who were all first-generation college graduates. Secretary Salazar believes education of young people is important to our nation's future.
Music/Intro: This is a Podcast from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Ron Tull: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar keynoted the 15th Annual National Forum on Hispanic Higher Education today in Washington. Secretary Salazar explained that part of his mission on behalf of President Obama is to tell all of America’s history through America’s many parks and monuments.
Secretary Salazar: Because he does understand the fact that we are truly one America. And to be truly one America it means that everybody’s history has got to be celebrated and everybody has to understand that it is not one culture or one history that is superior to another, but there is an equality and a need to have respect and dignity for everybody no matter where you are from.
Ron Tull: Many of those historic places will be protected by our nation’s youth this summer as Interior enacts plans to put thousands of young people to work.
Secretary Salazar: By the time that this summer is over, we will have increased the number of employees who are working in the Department of the Interior, young people from the ages of 16 to 25, by over 50 percent, by over 50 percent. That means we will have 16,000 young people who are working with us in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges or administrative offices throughout the entire United States of America.
Ron Tull: Secretary Salazar praised the forum sponsor, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and encouraged them to keep working hard to improve education for young Latinos and Latinas.
Secretary Salazar: Yes we have tough challenges ahead of us, yes we have a tough unemployment rate, yes we have couple of wars that we’re having to deal with which are difficult, yes we have these educational challenges that we don’t seem to be able to find the answers to; but we also have a great hope and great faith that the best days for us are still ahead. But so much of it is tied into this keystone that you work on today, that’s the keystone of education. So don’t give up, keep going and we will work with you in partnership to make it all happen.
Ron Tull: The Department of the Interior is working with the Hispanic Association of colleges and Universities to develop a conservation curriculum that will build a pathway to green careers in America. This has been a podcast from the U.S. Department of the Interior, I’m Ron Tull, Washington.
