Hispanic Outreach
Prairie State College offers the following activities for Hispanic students:
Annual Latino Student Leadership Conference for High School Students
At the first Latino Student Leadership Conference in 2003, approximately 150 high school students from all nine feeder schools in the PSC district were bused to campus. Program content has included presentations on why Latino students should go to college; explanation of what college is and its expectations; financial aid presentations; and testimonials from current PSC Latino students and Latino student graduates.
For more information, contact Mildred López at (708) 709-3567 or e-mail mlopez@prairiestate.edu.
Project Éxito and ParentNet
Through the South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium (SMHEC), the College is involved with Project Éxito Latino Committee, which primary focus is to increase college access, recruitment and retention, and graduation rates for Latino students in the Chicago Southland region. This is in collaboration with area community colleges and four-year universities who share the same goal. A new initiative within this group to further realize this goal is ParentNet, a program sponsored by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). According to ISAC the purpose of Parent Net is:
To establish community networks of parents, educators, and outreach professionals who can support and mentor each other while promoting student access to postsecondary education. It will provide a forum for developing parent leaders that will share information with others and will foster greater parental participation in the schools. This pilot project highlights the value of parent leadership and community partnerships in influencing a family’s ability to actively plan for, apply to, and pay for a college education.
United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI)
Our Latino students from the All Latin Alliance have attended regional and national conferences sponsored by this organization for about ten years. Students who attend these conferences persist and graduate from PSC or transfer to a baccalaureate granting institution and complete their education there. Through the conferences, our students are exposed to national and international leaders in politics, education and civil rights. Many of the keynote speakers are college educated, thus providing positive role models to first generation students. Many students have commented that the conference is a "life-changing" experience. In addition, students are encouraged to reflect and apply what they learned to their leadership roles here on campus.
A new initiative with USHLI in spring 2008 is our student participation in the Collegiate Leadership Development Program (CLDP). This program is seven-week, interactive, bilateral, policy-oriented training program for Latino student leaders. The program is designed to focus on how to formulate, exercise, and influence policy pertaining to the outreach, recruitment and retention of Latino students; the recruitment and retention of Latino staff, faculty and administrators; beginning or expanding a Latino studies curriculum; financial aid; involvement in student government; support for Latino student organizations; and financial literacy. Executive members of the All Latin Alliance and a few general members participated in this program. Studies show that engaging students in the process of their education further enhances their likelihood for persistence and completion.
Latino Professional Networking Session
During Hispanic Heritage Month, All Latin Alliance and the Office of Student Life and Multicultural Affairs host the Latino Professional Networking Session. The professionals who attend represent career fields in education, politics, business, architecture, finance and health care. This event is invitation only to the student participants. For more information contact Mildred López at mlopez@prairiestate.edu or (708) 709-3567.
Bilingual Spanish Speaking Info Night
This informational session is targeted to Spanish speaking parents to inform them in their native language about the opportunities available to assist their students attain an affordable college education. Please contact Mildred López at mlopez@prairiestate.edu or (708) 709-3567 for additional information.
ESL Conversation Table Program
This program launched in fall 2008 during Hispanic Heritage Month. Since a large number of ESL students speak Spanish, students from All Latin Alliance will host conversation socials for ESL students between their classes to help them improve their ability to speak English and introduce them to opportunities for involvement at the collegiate level. For more information contact Angela Winters-Harmon at awinters@prairiestate.edu or (708) 709-3781.
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