SIG Focus: Latino/Hispanic
From the June 7, 2017 NACAC Bulletin:
Co-Leaders of the Latin@/Hispanic Special Interest Group:
Claudia Hernández-Ponce, University of Denver, CO
Julio Mata, Miami University, OH
NACAC Special Interest Groups (SIGs) nurture the growing diversity in our association by providing “micro” communities where members can network and add value to their membership experience. These smaller subsets of members are formed for the purpose of knowledge sharing and discussion among members with similar interests whether they are specific subjects, issues or type of institution, or students they serve.
The Latino/Hispanic Special Interest Group represents the perspectives and concerns of those professionals who are responsible for the counseling, guidance, education, recruitment and transition (from high school to college) of Latino/Hispanic students. It is also responsible for the dissemination, discussion and representation of any and all related topics, issues and trends relevant to Latino/Hispanic college admission counseling.
We had over 37 members attend our last meeting (including NACAC President, Nancy T. Beane) during the RMACA/SACAC/TACAC SuperConference in San Antonio. Below is a recap of some of the things we discussed, links to our current resources, and ways for us to stay in touch and share resources in the future.
Summary of key discussion points/goals:
- Start to share professional development/job opportunities (related to multicultural/diversity work) on the Facebook group and the NACAC Latino/Hispanic SIG Group.
- Collaborate to use work created by others to assist Enrollment Division offices in creating Spanish marketing and presentation materials.
- Ensure translation services are an Enrollment Office priority – just because of our last names or because our work includes multicultural communities, doesn’t mean we are equipped or want to do the translations ourselves. We shouldn’t be tokenized to do translations or automatically tasked with working with Latino/Hispanic students.
- Engage in inclusivity work and find ways to help students feel comfortable once in a college campus climate is important! How can we work towards building campus climates where our students will be successful?
- Use the SIG as a soundboard…What awesome work are you doing or want to do in the future? What resources do you have or need?
- Use the SIG as a place to start/create/host Spanish resources
- Self-Promotion
- Create a mentorship program to help and assist each other in our professional growth
- Make the Latino/Hispanic SIG more recognizable for ANYONE to join in on the conversation. It should not exclude individuals who are not Latino/Hispanic
We want to invite everyone to join our Latino/Hispanic NACAC Exchange Group. We also encourage you to connect with us via our Facebook Group and to use the College Admission en Español website as a resource guide.