LYNWOOD — Alumni from Lynwood High School are gearing up for their 10th annual Lynwood Alumni College Conference Saturday at Lynwood Middle School where more than 900 students and their parents are expected to attend, making this year’s event the largest yet.

Established in 2000, the Lynwood Alumni College Conference Committee has normally consisted of graduates from Lynwood High School. But this year, joining past alumni are new graduates from Lynwood’s second high school, Firebaugh High School.

The annual event is the “only known grassroots college conference to be led by 100 percent volunteer high school alumni,” said 1996 graduate Oscar Espinoza, one of the founding members of the conference.

Adding to the end of a decade, the conference committee also will be initiating a new alumni mentoring program Saturday, where alumni can keep in touch with students and their families throughout the school year to provide them with academic advice and mentorship.

The committee is an unofficial group, said Espinoza when asked if he was the president of the committee. He said he along with three other members co-chair the committee.

Not only is Espinoza a big believer in the saying that “it takes a village to raise a child,” Espinoza, vice president of the Lynwood Unified School District’s Board of Education, is also a believer in giving back.

“Giving back is super important,” he said. “I believe that I’m here now, because others gave back for me. … If we live in this community, then we have to take care of it.”

The conference gives middle school and high school students a chance to hear about college from people who graduated from their schools.

Every workshop is conducted by a former local student. Attendees can participate in workshops about the admissions process, transferring from a two-year to a four-year college, college academics, studying abroad, nursing as a career choice, financial aid workshops and how to choose the best college.

Espinoza said he would like to instill in as many students as possible a college-ready culture.

Getting students interested in going to college is something that needs to start at a very early age, Espinoza said.

Although he graduated successfully and is now a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Espinoza said he has seen too many students not getting the tools they need to succeed in school, or in life for that matter.

“Early college awareness is important,” he said. “That’s our No. 1 goal, but even if college isn’t for some of these kids, the conference can offer more than college awareness. It teaches life skills, too, and personal growth and mentorships. … There’s more to the conference then just a bunch of colleges or military spokespeople lining up to give you an application. … We help you.”

Espinoza said he didn’t run for the school board to promote the conference, but he did run because he believed he could help improve education in the school district that raised him.

“Lynwood is going to get better,” he said. “But people do need to start giving back. With all of these cuts that we’re going to have to make at the district level, to survive, we will need a lot more giving back and volunteerism at the schools.”

Parents and community members will be targeted at this year’s event, unlike past years. Organizers have put together three workshops they believe will help parents help their students succeed in school.

Espinoza said his mother raised three boys on her own, all three of whom went to college. “She kept us in check,” Espinoza said, adding that he credits his mother’s hard work for where he is today.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my mom,” he said. “I really believe that the more parents are educated, the better the future of their children will be.”

Gayleah Richmond, a 2001 graduate, said she participates in the annual event because she wants to see more students from Lynwood succeed and go to college.

“I want to tell students that it doesn’t matter where you come from, what city you grew up in, what your economic status was growing up, that college is possible,” she said. “Education is important and just because you’re from Lynwood, it doesn’t mean that you can’t go to college.”

On the contrary, she said, “we want students to follow in our footsteps. … If we could do it, then they can do it.”

Going to college, Richmond said, broadens the mind.

“Going to college doesn’t just give you an education and puts you on the right path,” she said. “It broadens your horizons. A college education, no matter where you go, makes you look at life in a different way … it gives you a different perspective on life.”

Saturday’s conference runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lynwood Middle School, 12124 Bullis Road.

Information: Espinoza at (310) 990-4059.