On April 18, Southwest Detroit gets a free college fair built specifically for Latino students and families who’ve never had a clean shot at the information everyone else takes for granted.
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Detroit is running its 5th Annual College Fair on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Western International High School, 1500 Scotten St. No registration fee. No catch. Just four hours of direct access to college representatives, bilingual workshops, and financial aid guidance for anyone from a curious eighth grader to a senior who still hasn’t committed.
“This college fair is about access, opportunity, and support,” said Maridy Mazaira, president of SHPE Detroit. “For many Latino students and families the college process can feel confusing or overwhelming, especially for first-generation families.”
That’s not a talking point. It’s the operating principle behind everything SHPE Detroit has built into this event.
Workshops will walk attendees through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which the Federal Student Aid office administers and which trips up thousands of Detroit families every year, not because the form is impossible, but because nobody ever sat down and explained it. Sessions will run in both English and Spanish, and college representatives will be on hand to field questions directly rather than just handing out brochures. The Michigan College Access Network is among the organizations involved in supporting programming like this across the state.
“Many families may not attend traditional college fairs because of cost, language barriers, or because they are unsure how the college process works,” Mazaira said.
That’s why the location matters. Western International High School on Scotten St. sits right inside the community it’s trying to reach. This isn’t a downtown ballroom event that families have to drive across the city to find. It’s in the neighborhood. It’s walkable for a lot of the people who need it most.
The fair also includes STEAM programming with live demonstrations and take-home kits, covering science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. Don’t underestimate that piece. Younger kids who show up with older siblings or parents are going to get something hands-on, something they can touch and bring home, and that’s a different kind of impression than a pamphlet stack on a folding table.
This is the fifth year SHPE Detroit has done this. The 4th Annual College Fair in 2025 was held at La Casa Guadalupana, where Detroit City Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero cut the ribbon and talked directly to students about STEM careers. Each year the organization has expanded what it’s offering and where it’s planting the event.
Moving to Western International for 2026 is a clear signal about scale. The school serves a large portion of Southwest Detroit’s student population already. It’s got the space, the community trust, and the foot traffic. Organizers aren’t waiting for families to find the fair. They’re bringing it to where families already are.
Full details and background on the event were first reported by Bridge Detroit.
What’s at stake here is straightforward. Southwest Detroit’s Latino community has the same ambitions as any other community in this city. What it hasn’t always had is the infrastructure of guidance that makes those ambitions feel reachable. College fairs, when they’re free, bilingual, and located at 1500 Scotten St. on a Saturday morning, can close some of that distance. Not all of it. But some.
Saturday, April 18. Ten in the morning. Western International High School. It’s free, and it’s in your neighborhood.
