We want to create better pathways for first-year (Latine) students, expose them to career services, and get them engaged with internship opportunities, community engagement and career readiness.”
The growing Latine presence on campus was celebrated earlier this semester with Mi Futuro. Billed as a career-experience program, the event featured Latine alumni and employer-partners talking with Bridgewater State University students about skill building, celebrating identity, overcoming challenges and finding mentors.
“We really wanted to amplify the voices and experiences of (Latine) career leaders to inspire the BSU Latine community,” said Yolany Gonell, assistant vice president, Division of Student Success, Equity and Diversity.
Discussions at the event, which was held during National Hispanic Heritage Month, were wide ranging and included a focus on potential majors and related careers. Mi Futuro was just one of many university efforts that prioritize the admission, retention and success of Latine students, an often misunderstood and overlooked population.
For the past five years, BSU has been taking a closer look at data aggregated by the Office of Institutional Research that revealed Latine retention and graduation rates were low when compared to white students and other students of color. Specifically, retention rates were found to steadily decline from year one to year two.
“We want to create better pathways for first-year (Latine) students, expose them to career services, and get them engaged with internship opportunities, community engagement and career readiness,” said Ms. Gonell. “How do we deliver on our promise to our Latine students that a BSU degree will get them into a career or industry of their choice or a career they may have not considered?”
To answer this question, a needs assessment of services and resources for Latine students was created. These efforts included student-led focus groups organized through the Office of Institutional Research as well as the Lewis and Gaines Center for Inclusion and Equity. Meanwhile, the Enrollment Management Core Group, led by Paul Jean, vice president of enrollment, marketing and communications, and Laura Biechler, assistant vice president for student financial assistance and enrollment management, ultimately recommended the prioritization of the admission, retention and success of Latine students in 2023.
“Recognizing the racialized disparate outcomes in the data and additional inquiries, efforts became more institutionally focused, shifting the responsibility for change onto the institution rather than the students,” Ms. Gonell wrote in a report, summing up the change of focus regarding Latine students.
To that end, BSU also formed a collaboration with Excelencia in Education, a national organization dedicated to improving Latine student success in higher education.
“It’s an institutional problem that’s happening across all schools in America,” Ms. Gonell said. “Latines are often lumped into the category of students of color in such a way that it’s forgotten that each culture group has different needs based on different experiences and issues that impact them in the classroom, perceptions and microaggressions.”
According to the American Community Survey (ACS) data, the Latino population in Massachusetts, including Brazilians, was 1,005,500, in 2021. This represents 14.4 percent of the population.*
Since (ACS’s) last report, using 2014 data, Massachusetts has experienced a 24.8 percent growth in the Latino population. This population growth is the largest of the four major ethno-racial ethnic groups.*
BSU officials took a hard look at Latine cultural representation on campus, such as, how many students are active in clubs? How many serve in leadership roles? How many attend campus-wide events? What career paths are they taking?
“We found they weren’t going to programs or using available resources,” Ms. Gonell said. “So, we are looking for ways to bolster curiosity and engage Latine students to come out and explore, to be seen and heard.”
Along with the Mi Futuro Career Experience, a BEST mentorship program was launched, the first live outdoor salsa band and resource fair was held, a Café Con Leche Latine student support group was created, and enhanced Latine Heritage Month programs were offered.
“We are examining the foods offered in our dining halls,” Ms. Gonell said. “Are we representing different cultures? Are we being transportation-friendly to our Latine students, who often commute from areas over an hour away?”
This spring, the university will pilot a Latine excellence and mentorship course and create pathways for students to get more involved in BSU’s undergraduate research program.
“Participating in undergraduate research opens pathways for scholarships, professional development, mentorship, summer jobs and more,” Ms. Gonell said.
BSU will continue to look at and analyze the data to ensure Latines are best supported.
“Looking at the data will help us close equity gaps and also open up new questions and opportunities for us,” Ms. Gonell said. “At BSU it’s important that all our students succeed … It’s important we show them the value of getting an education at BSU.”
*ACS data and information taken from “The Growing Latino Population of Massachusetts: A Demographic and Economic Portrait,” published by the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy Publications.