Students’ work to create a diverse campus pays off with an increase in Hispanic enrollment and a stronger sense of pride and community.
It is common practice at many institutions for current students to phone prospective students who have been accepted but are not yet attending that school. During these calls, students engage in meaningful conversations about the college, academic programs, social environments, living arrangements and campus culture, alleviating fears and sharing their love for the college. The hope with these calls is that they will be the last push accepted students need in their decision to attend a specific college or university, as opposed to another institution. It can be particularly challenging when trying to encourage students of color to attend a college that may have less diversity than they are used to in a high school setting and/or are expecting in their college choice.
Last year, in an effort to encourage more students of color to attend Wentworth Institute of Technology and to quell some specific concerns of this student population, the admissions office at Wentworth presented an opportunity to one of the cultural clubs on campus to assist in its recruitment efforts — calling prospective students that belong to their affinity group. The Wentworth chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) answered the charge and began calling Hispanic and students who had been accepted.
Needs and concerns are different for each person, but it often helps the accepted student to talk to someone with a similar background. Students who can empathize and offer strategies for support are a welcome voice for a student determining which school to attend. When a student is thinking ‘there didn’t seem to be a lot of people who looked like me on the tour,’ it can be difficult for them to want to choose that school. Knowing that there is someone on campus who cares about their success can certainly be important.
