The National Latino Education Institute (NLEI) celebrated the success of 125 students who graduated in areas of business, trades, technology, and more. NLEI’s graduation took place on Thursday, Dec. 4th and featured ABC 7 Chicago’s Stacey Baca as mistress of ceremonies, as well as Chicago business leader Ezekiel Flores as keynote speaker. “Education is the golden key,” said Baca, praising the students who worked so hard to complete the intensive and rigorous certification programs.

Graduate Shaunisha Brown also gave remarks before the graduating class. “Before starting at NLEI, I was at a point in my life of wanting to give up on my dreams of working in the medical field,” Brown said, noting that she’d been a teenage mother and had dropped out of high school. Through NLEI, Brown completed an externship at Northwestern Hospital in the Internal Medicine Clinic. “Thank you, NLEI, for giving me a second chance to accomplish my dreams,” said Brown. Founded 42 years ago, the NLEI mission is to connect individuals to in-demand jobs by forging lasting and strong bonds with the business community while anticipating industry needs and increasing the supply of highly skilled professionals. For more information about NLEI, visit nlei.org.