By: Verónica Gutiérrez, MBA’22, Dominican University, River Forest IL and Marcela Reales Visbal, Activity Director for Title V, Aspect B – Advertising Publish-Baccalaureate Prospects for Hispanic Individuals, Dominican University, River Forest IL
“I experienced never heard of the expression HSI until I arrived to Dominican University”, explained Verónica Gutiérrez, a first-technology Latina who grew up in one particular of Chicago’s northwestern suburbs and not long ago graduated with her Master’s in Enterprise Administration from Dominican.
Dominican University is 1 of 30 Hispanic Serving Establishments in Illinois, and 1 of 15 that provides graduate programs.1 When most HSIs are concentrated in the U.S. Southwest, Puerto Rico, and New York, Dominican proudly serves the midwestern Latine neighborhood. The college is considered Chicago’s Leading Catholic HSI.
Like Verónica, many pupils at Dominican are first-era higher education college students and from traditionally marginalized communities in the Chicago metropolitan region. With Latine pupils accounting for 20% of university undergraduates in the United States, it is vital to be intentional about serving this subset of the population.2
How? By developing on students’ property and offering them tools and sources that will help them do well.
Since the tumble of 2017 Dominican University has been awarded Title V and Title III grants aimed at raising Latine and minimal-profits scholar results. These sources grow and greatly enhance academic choices, educational help companies for undergraduate and graduate college students, profession and qualified preparedness, and co-curricular offerings these types of as a Monetary Wellness application. They also guidance faculty and staff throughout campus to become far more culturally inclusive by means of their do the job and instructing practices.
“When I arrived to Dominican there was an in general concentrate on the perfectly-remaining of the learners,” explained Verónica. “It felt like a great deal of the college, these as Professor of Administration Molly Burke, were being generally really interested and concerned about how the pupils were being executing, giving tutorial support and connecting us with folks and methods.”
Whilst pursuing her MBA, Verónica was a graduate assistant for the Economical Wellness application. The program, led by Ramiro Atristaín Carrión features college students economic literacy workshops, economic advice, undergraduate internships, and volunteering opportunities in the local community. The assistantship gave Verónica an option to extend her expertise of Economical Literacy, mentor undergraduate pupils, and attain task administration skills.
This knowledge led her to pursue her present profession as a guide for greater training: “As a to start with-gen college student I always uncover it helpful when establishments present instruments and sources that empower the students, whether it’s via experiential options like internships or graduate assistantships, that will give encounters desired for a whole lot of our college students,” she said.
Verónica has usually been dedicated to mentorship and advocating for her group.
“Growing up I had really supportive lecturers that generally considered in my potential, so I believed that I could achieve whatsoever was in my mind,” she explained. “I would also say that illustration does issue. Ramiro was in investment banking, and I experienced never ever achieved anybody from Latin The us that was in financial commitment banking, so it was the very first time that I entered the home and believed that anything at all was probable!”
“We can not be what we can not see,” writes actor and social justice advocate Michael K. Williams in his posthumous memoir.3
Giving a range of instruments and options for our college students to see over and above what they know and triumph on their endeavors, is important to supporting them be the finest-possible version of on their own.
1Excelencia in Schooling: Hispanic-Serving Establishments (HSIs): 2020-2021
2National Middle for Training Figures and The White Property: A Proclamation on Hispanic Heritage Institutions Week, 2022
3Williams, Michael Kenneth, and Jon Sternfeld. Scenes from My Lifestyle: A Memoir. Crown, 2022.
Verónica Gutiérrez currently performs for a consulting organization in Chicago. She graduated debt totally free by implementing the personal finance ideas taught by Ramiro J. Atristaín-Carrión in the method. Verónica thinks in empowering men and women by equipping them with the understanding, applications, and expertise they want to be productive. Her potential intention is to start off a economic literacy plan to empower ladies and other to start with-generation college or university pupils.