Dominican University: Serving Latine Students in the Midwest

Dominican University: Serving Latine Students In The Midwest
Dominican University: Serving Latine Students In The Midwest

By: Verónica Gutiérrez, MBA’22, Dominican College, River Forest IL and Marcela Reales Visbal, Exercise Director for Title V, Aspect B – Selling Write-up-Baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic People in america, Dominican College, River Forest IL

“I experienced hardly ever listened to of the expression HSI until finally I arrived to Dominican University”, said Verónica Gutiérrez, a first-generation Latina who grew up in one particular of Chicago’s northwestern suburbs and a short while ago graduated with her Master’s in Small business Administration from Dominican.

Dominican College is one of 30 Hispanic Serving Establishments in Illinois, and a single of 15 that presents graduate courses.1 Whilst most HSIs are concentrated in the U.S. Southwest, Puerto Rico, and New York, Dominican proudly serves the midwestern Latine community. The university is regarded Chicago’s Premier Catholic HSI.

Like Verónica, numerous college students at Dominican are to start with-technology university learners and from historically marginalized communities in the Chicago metropolitan place. With Latine learners accounting for 20% of college or university undergraduates in the United States, it is important to be intentional about serving this subset of the inhabitants.2

How? By developing on students’ property and presenting them equipment and means that will assistance them do well.

Given that the slide of 2017 Dominican College has been awarded Title V and Title III grants aimed at escalating Latine and low-cash flow university student achievements. These resources broaden and boost academic choices, educational assist companies for undergraduate and graduate pupils, job and skilled preparedness, and co-curricular choices these types of as a Economic Wellness software. They also aid college and team throughout campus to turn into additional culturally inclusive by way of their function and training techniques.

“When I arrived to Dominican there was an general aim on the well-remaining of the pupils,” reported Verónica. “It felt like a large amount of the college, such as Professor of Administration Molly Burke, were typically really fascinated and worried about how the learners have been doing, giving tutorial assist and connecting us with people today and resources.”

Even though pursuing her MBA, Verónica was a graduate assistant for the Economical Wellness software. The application, led by Ramiro Atristaín Carrión features college students money literacy workshops, financial direction, undergraduate internships, and volunteering options in the neighborhood. The assistantship gave Verónica an prospect to broaden her expertise of Economic Literacy, mentor undergraduate college students, and attain job administration skills.

This working experience led her to go after her recent occupation as a specialist for higher education: “As a very first-gen pupil I usually locate it valuable when institutions offer applications and assets that empower the learners, irrespective of whether it’s through experiential opportunities like internships or graduate assistantships, that will supply experiences needed for a lot of our students,” she mentioned.

Verónica has usually been committed to mentorship and advocating for her community.

“Growing up I had really supportive academics that always thought in my potential, so I thought that I could achieve whatsoever was in my mind,” she mentioned. “I would also say that representation does matter. Ramiro was in financial investment banking, and I had hardly ever met anybody from Latin America that was in investment banking, so it was the 1st time that I entered the place and assumed that nearly anything was probable!”

“We are unable to be what we can’t see,” writes actor and social justice advocate Michael K. Williams in his posthumous memoir.3

Delivering a selection of resources and possibilities for our pupils to see beyond what they know and be successful on their endeavors, is important to aiding them be the very best-doable version of on their own.

1Excelencia in Education and learning: Hispanic-Serving Establishments (HSIs): 2020-2021

2Nationwide Center for Schooling Data and The White Property: A Proclamation on Hispanic Heritage Establishments Week, 2022

3Williams, Michael Kenneth, and Jon Sternfeld. Scenes from My Lifestyle: A Memoir. Crown, 2022.

Verónica Gutiérrez at the moment operates for a consulting organization in Chicago. She graduated credit card debt free of charge by applying the personal finance concepts taught by Ramiro J. Atristaín-Carrión in the software. Verónica believes in empowering men and women by equipping them with the know-how, instruments, and competencies they will need to be successful. Her upcoming intention is to start off a money literacy program to empower gals and other 1st-era college or university students.