BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- From academics to creative opportunities, inspiration was shared during Day 1 of the Chavez-Huerta Leadership Conference. Newly appointed President, Dr. Vernon B. Harper Jr., says that those at CSUB on Thursday wont struggle acknowledging the likes of Chavez and Huerta. "So many in Kern County still struggle to this day with acknowledging that legacy, but not today, and not at CSUB," said Dr. Vernon B. Harper Jr. Harper Jr. added, the time is now for everyone to know the legacy Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta built for this community at the first edition of the Chavez-Huerta Leadership Conference. "They still see us as others, they see us as different," said Mildred Garcia, Chancellor of California State Universities. "Yet, we are Americans, we are here, contributing every day to our communities, in our schools, in our workforce and we are leaders." Garcia is ​the first Latina to lead a statewide four-year public university system as Latina leaders continue opening the way for the next generation. "There's not a lot of people who look like me when I walk into particular rooms, so I have to walk in with confidence...knowing that I belong there," said Linda Yvette Chavez, writer of Flamin' Hot. "It has taken a long time to build that confidence, but here we are...I think a big part of what's allowed me to be successful is being authentically and unapologetically myself." Valadao, Salas critique each other’s records during CA-22 debate For Haylee Hernandez, the first in her family to attend a University, it's important to meet Latinas in higher education. "We still have further we can go," said Hernandez, a Criminal Justice Major at CSUB. "I think there's always room for improvement and I don't think that we'll ever be where we could be, be as high as we could be." Born in Mexico, Estephany Delgado is set to become the first in her family to get a Master's Degree. "We obviously were at the same level as everyone else, we're first gen, but we had to prove to others, other little kids around us that we are also capable of being here," said Delgado, a Liberal Studies Student at CSUB. Day 2 of the conference continues Friday, at La Paz in Keene.