To college or not? That's the decision that thousands of young people make after graduating from high school and on Saturday at Napa Valley College 250 or more high school and middle school students from all over the county were given several reasons to choose the former.

The students took part in NVC's 23rd Annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference, a series of workshops designed to encourage students to go to college that featured college staff, students and guest speakers from all facets of society.

"Our goal really (is to) promote higher education to Latino youth ... promote career options and career possibilities," said Alejandro Guerrero, event coordinator and outreach counselor for NVC's College Assistance Migrant Program.

Latinos are the fastest growing minority, accounting for 30 percent of the population in Napa, according to census estimates. But that number doesn't necessarily translate to increased college enrollment rates or an increase in the number of Latinos earning college degrees.

A 2004 Pew Hispanic Center report found that major disparities exist between white and Latino students in their pursuit of bachelor's degrees. White youth beginning at community colleges are nearly twice as likely as Hispanic youth beginning at similar colleges to finish a bachelor's degree. The study also found this gap at the four-year college level.

"Comparing the best prepared white and Latino college students at non-selective colleges and universities, 81 percent of whites complete a bachelor's degree and 57 percent of Latinos (do)," according to the Pew Hispanic Center's Web site.

"Unfortunately there are a lot of barriers that are set up for them," Guerrero said. "Our youth, immigrant families come from low levels of education. Often they are forced to work. Our family systems are so tight they have to support the family."

Seeing his father work in the vineyards gave 16-year-old Ignacio Alfaro, a sophomore at Napa High School, a desire to become a winemaker, he said. On Saturday Alfaro got the opportunity to hear how Alex Sotelo, winemaker and owner of Alex Sotelo Cellars, went from farmworker to one of the valley's few Latino vintners.

"It's pretty good that there was actually someone that was a winemaker (at the event)," Alfaro said.

Sotelo told Alfaro and a group of about two dozen of his peers that math, chemistry and biology sparked his rise to winemaker at Robert Pecota Winery.

"I didn't realize that they gave the opportunity to work in the lab," he said. "That was the gate that opened up the door to who I am. I became a viticulturist. I know that winemaking begins in the vineyards, throughout school, I kept working full time."

While working at the winery, Sotelo took viticulture classes at NVC and UC Davis and graduated from NVC in 2000. Two years later, Sotelo opened up Alex Sotelo Cellars.

"Whatever you are doing, do it well," Sotelo told the group. "Focus and do it 100 percent. To become a winemaker, you need to go to school."

In addition to Sotelo, students also heard from Jose Castro, owner and mechanic at Universal Auto; Carmen Martinez, correctional officer for Napa County and doctorate candidate at UC Berkeley; Maria Fincher, station manager at Univision affiliate KDTV based in Santa Rosa; Alicia Jaramillo, an investigator at Napa County District Attorney's office; Antonio Castro, a local electrical engineer; Marisa Loza, a local immigration consultant and many other professionals.

Several NVC students put on a series of skits to shed light on the barriers that many Latino youths face when deciding to go to college. In one skit, students Flor del Campo and Francisco Avina played two students -- Avina's character, Andres, chose work instead of going to college and discovered that the job was not worth the labor for the wage it paid and del Campo's character, Sophia, chose college over marriage and gained a successful career.

In another skit, student Alex Segura dressed as a construction worker and told the group "This is how society sees me, as a construction worker." Segura then took off his construction worker garb and revealed a suit.

"But in reality, I am an architect," he said.

Parents participated in a workshop that discussed the concept of parents as teachers. Community Health Clinic Ole, Fair Housing Napa Valley, Alianza de la Comunidad, NVC's Puente program, Sonoma State University and other groups provided students additional information.