Reaching and serving Utah’s Latinx population is a core part of Salt Lake Community College’s (SLCC) values and part of its strategic mission, which prioritizes advancing inclusivity by increasing access to education and providing a safe, supportive environment.

As Utah’s largest minoritized group – the Latinx community – continues to grow, so does SLCC’s Latinx student body, which encompasses about 20% of all students at the college. We anticipate that this will jump to 25% once the pandemic diminishes. However, becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) is not just a numbers game.

Among Utah’s higher education institutions, SLCC is the one with the most diverse student body and the only higher education institution located in the diverse West Side of Salt Lake County.

More than 50% of our students are first-generation college students, and the majority of our students work one or more jobs. Understanding the unique challenges and life scenarios of these students guides us in providing them with what they need to meet their academic goals.

SLCC’s 11 educational locations are in areas where there are prevalent Latinx communities. Especially notable is SLCC’s West Valley Center, home to the Dream Center — the second undocumented resource center in the state.

The Dream Center serves undocumented immigrant students and those from mixed-immigration status families with individual advising and accessing scholarship support. Every employee at this location is bilingual, and the advisors engage in outreach in six local high schools. Among Utah public higher education institutions, SLCC serves the highest number of undocumented immigrant students.

“People in the Latinx community know they will be helped here and that they will find someone who understands them and knows their struggles,” said Idolina Quijada, the West Valley Center Site Coordinator. “We tell them, ‘You are not different here.’”

“SLCC is not like any other college. It is a place of many doors, and you can choose which one to open. There is a place for you here, a home,” said undergraduate student Sophia Gaona, who is majoring in social work. “I’ve realized that there are people here who want to hear from me and learn about my story. This is a place where they want to bring you to the table and ask, ‘How can we support you?’”

A Lot of Attention Goes into Forming Trust

SLCC is committed to nurturing deep roots in the community, starting in middle school. The Pre-College Engineering and Partners for Accessing College Education Programs are two of many initiatives dedicated to fostering a connection with historically underserved students in middle school and high school. The services these programs provide range from summer intensive learning opportunities in STEM to year-round, on-site mentoring in their local schools.

Another commitment to our current and prospective students is SLCC Promise, which has helped nearly 3,000 students since 2016 save more than $3.7 million and make college more attainable. The promise is that SLCC will cover any tuition cost  outside of what the federal PELL grant will cover. And the college’s use of Open Education Resources has helped about 180,000 students save almost $15 million since 2014, making most textbooks and classroom reading materials free to students.

SLCC’s Summer Bridge Program engages high school seniors from local school districts to help set them up for success in college by exposing them early to the resources available and connecting them with peer mentors, faculty and staff, many of whom are Spanish speaking.

This past summer, the 220 students who attended Bridge were paid a stipend ($200/week),to reach those who otherwise could not afford to attend. Typically, 50% of the students are Latinx. Next summer, 20 spots will be dedicated to ESL students.

Our TRIO programs provide support for low-income and first-generation students, many of whom are Latinx. This grant-based program also focuses on student retention and completion by providing tutoring, advising and workshops focused on financial literacy, transferring and high-impact practices.

Building trust through relationships is a very intentional part of what we do regarding our Latinx students; we let them know that we are here to problem-solve with them, whether it is academic or personal. Culturally, we know that family comes before education, so we work with them while having that in mind.

To address the realities of many of our students’ lives (e.g., food and housing insecurity, health issues), we have hired two full-time Basic Needs Coordinators. They help connect students and their families to college and community resources. While these challenges are not academic in nature, they do impact academic persistence.

The Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA) has six student success coordinators serving underrepresented students, including Latinx students, in culturally responsive and affirming ways. This includes a designated Latinx coordinator, who also helps oversee the annual Latinx Heritage Celebration. Students can connect to other Latinx students through clubs, such as the Latinx United for Change and Activism (LUChA).

The Power of Mentoring

Several mentoring programs serve Latinx students: Somos Más and ESL Legacy Mentors. Both programs help connect more experienced students with incoming students to help diminish factors of being Latinx (who may primarily speak Spanish) that can be intimidating while navigating an academic environment. These programs help students accomplish their academic goals, and many transfer to the University of Utah, where previous SLCC mentors await their arrival to help yet again. It is a mentoring chain that begins here at SLCC.

Luz Gamarra, an academic program advisor, started Somos Más in 2014 because she realized that Latinx students felt alone. She started with four students – two years later, it grew to 450, and today it includes 1,700 students. “Both the mentee and mentor grow from this experience. Students are proud to help others and realize the importance of helping others,” said Gamarra. She now leads the ESL mentoring program; approximately 80% of SLCC’s ESL students are Latinx.

To us, the heart of being an HSI institution is not just serving Latinx students, but fundamentally reimagining our practices with Latinx students at the center. We invite you to join us in reimagining higher education through our commitments to community, mentoring and relationship-building.

Authors’ Bios:

Richard Diaz is the Interim Associate Vice President for Student Success and Director of Orientation and Student Success at Salt Lake Community College. He is the Co-chair for the Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution Collaborative Work Team, which seeks to prepare SLCC to become a responsive and caring Latinx institution.

Alonso Reyna Rivarola is the Interim Chief Diversity Officer and Middle School Family Engagement Director at Salt Lake Community College. He is the Co-chair for the Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution Collaborative Work Team. Prior to Salt Lake Community College, Alonso founded the first undocumented student resource center at The University of Utah.