To kickoff Hispanic Heritage Month, Secretary Solis hosted a cafecito, a traditional Latin American coffee breakfast, for leaders in the Latino community at the White House on Wednesday September 15, 2010. Culinary Arts students of the Potomac Job Corps Center prepared and served the breakfast for over one hundred guests at the event. Secretary Solis was joined by Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the president; Cecilia Muñoz, White House director of intergovernmental affairs; and Tina Tchen, White House director of public engagement along with Maria Del Carmen Aponte, ambassador to El Salvador.

On Thursday, September 16, 2010, the celebration continued at the Latina Leadership Breakfast hosted by the National Hispana Leadership Institute. Fourteen students of the Culinary Arts and the Hospitality trades of the Potomac Job Corps Center catered the breakfast at the Great Hall of the US Department of Labor Building. “Here at the Labor Department, we want ALL women to succeed. We want Latinas to be part of the future high-growth career sectors, like green jobs, science, technology, engineering, math and healthcare,” Secretary Solis told the crowd.