OCEANSIDE -- Vista native and Lake Elsinore school administrator Narciso Iglesias borrowed a theme from a popular movie to drive home a point to middle and high school Latino boys at an educational conference Saturday at MiraCosta College.

"How many of you have ever watched 'The Matrix'?" Iglesias, the keynote speaker, asked while walking back and forth on the floor of the college gymnasium, holding a microphone in one hand and gesturing with the other.

About half the hands in the bleachers went up.

Iglesias reminded them that the 1999 movie featured both a "fake world" and a "real world," and he suggested that in real life there is also a fake and real world.

Andy Morales, 13 and a seventh-grader from Vista, said the message was clear.

"The fake world is what we live in right now, where we don't have to worry about high school and college," Andy said. "In the real world, you do have to worry about high school and college. The real world is not just hanging out and kicking back."

Andy was one of 500 North County boys who attended the third annual Educational and Career Exploration Conference sponsored by the Encuentros Leadership of North San Diego County in conjunction with MiraCosta College, Cal State San Marcos, Palomar College and community groups.

The morning and early afternoon conference featured music, breakfast, motivational speeches and back-to-back workshops. In the workshops, the boys were given an opportunity to learn about a variety of career options, including architecture, engineering, health care, real estate, art, music, tourism, teaching, nursing, firefighting and business.

The conference also extolled the benefits of completing high school and aiming higher.

In a brief address to the youngsters before the workshops convened, Joyce Bales, superintendent of Vista Unified School District, said, "I hope you will make a commitment in your heart to see yourself getting a college education."

Named for the Spanish word that means "coming together," Encuentros Leadership of North San Diego County formed three years ago to do something about the high dropout rate among Latino boys. The idea for the nonprofit group was inspired by a challenge longtime Carlsbad community activist Ofie Escobedo leveled at North County Latino men, to find a way to keep Latino boys in school.

When Iglesias came to the conclusion he wasn't cut out for the tough avocado-picking career of his "macho" father, he studied hard and graduated from Rancho Buena Vista High School in 1989. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in psychology from Cal State San Marcos in 1996, a teaching credential from Cal State Fullerton in 2000 and a master's degree in education in 2002.

Now, Iglesias is vice principal at Elsinore Middle School and a doctoral student in educational leadership at UC San Diego.

"In 20 years you can be me -- or better," Iglesias told the youths.

Andy Morales, in a brief interview before a workshop, said he is aiming to go beyond a bachelor's degree, too, and become a children's doctor.

In the workshop conducted by Oceanside firefighter-paramedic Oscar Ayala, Andy raised his hand several times to ask questions. He wanted to know whether firefighting in real life is how it is portrayed in the movies.

"Well, sometimes you get to be a hero," Ayala said. "But not every day."

Another student wanted to know if one could be a firefighter and wear a tattoo. Ayala, wearing his short-sleeved uniform shirt, said the rules allow one to have tattoos, but not to expose those on arms or other bare skin.

"We can't be intimidating to anybody," he said.

Someone else wanted to know if firefighters could wear earrings. Not on the job, Ayala said, because it could aggravate an injury.

And, Ayala said, don't expect to get rich rescuing people from flames.

But Christina Hata, a business professor at MiraCosta College, suggested in another workshop a few rooms over that finding a job one likes is more important than making a lot of money.

"You're going to do your job for the rest of your life, and you really need to make sure you pick something that matches your personality," Hata said. "Life should be fun, right?"

Hata and business professor Rita Soza took a dozen middle-school students through an exercise to determine whether they tend to be introverted or extroverted, and whether they are highly organized, deep thinkers, serious and formal, or feeling-oriented people.

"What an extrovert might do is work with people and be a financial manager … to make sure people save enough for retirement," Hata said.

And, she said, "If you like to solve puzzles, then accounting might be a good career."

Diego Bautista, 11, of Vista, a seventh-grader at Washington Middle School, said he likes puzzles and figures that would make for a good mechanic who has to solve the puzzle of a car that isn't running.

Diego said he also figures his extroverted personality will come in handy when he has to break the bad news to customers and tell them: "That's going to be a thousand dollars."

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 740-5442 of ddowney@nctimes.com.