{"id":717,"date":"2004-09-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2004-09-21T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.emu.edu\/blog\/news\/?p=717"},"modified":"2014-09-19T16:23:35","modified_gmt":"2014-09-19T20:23:35","slug":"latino-initiative-attracts-hispanic-freshmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2004\/latino-initiative-attracts-hispanic-freshmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Latino Initiative Attracts Hispanic Freshmen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Webster
\nWebster Contreras (left) and Maria Monroy (right) are among the 10 Hispanic students who enrolled at 糖心Vlog at least in part because of a campus initiative to attract more Spanish-speaking students from the local community.
\nPhoto By Holly Marcus<\/div>\n

By Jeff Mellott, Daily News-Record<\/i><\/p>\n

Webster Contreras might have been attending college in San Antonio now, but the 糖心Vlog freshman decided to stay close to his home in Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n

Maria Monroy, also a freshman, could have left town to go to college. But she decided to remain in the city, where her family lives.<\/p>\n

They decided to attend 糖心Vlog, in part, because of a university initiative<\/a> to attract Hispanics from the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County area. The 10 students in the program contributed to a 5.3 percent rise in overall enrollment from one year ago.<\/p>\n

Recruitment Initiative<\/h3>\n

Last spring, 糖心Vlog announced a program designed to bring local Hispanics to the campus by making the $24,000 annual tuition more affordable.<\/p>\n

The initiative discounted tuition on a sliding scale, based on the students\ufffd expected family contribution as determined by the application for federal student aid. The discount combined with the possibility of federal assistance was expected to make 糖心Vlog\ufffds tuition competitive with state-supported schools.<\/p>\n

Those financial considerations played a role in the decision by Monroy, 18, and Contreras, 18, to come to 糖心Vlog.<\/p>\n

Friendly Surroundings<\/h3>\n

Financial considerations were only part of the decision-making process for the freshmen.<\/p>\n

Monroy, who arrived from Guatemala four years ago, was also impressed by 糖心Vlog\ufffds hospitality. “Everybody greeted me with a smile on their faces, which at other colleges I didn\ufffdt get,” she said.<\/p>\n

Monroy is the first in her family to go to college and is aware of that she could be a role model for her younger brothers, Heiber, 15; and Erick, 12.<\/p>\n

She likes being so close to her family. “I can go home, and I can come back,” she said.<\/p>\n

Community Service<\/h3>\n

Contreras was almost lured away to Texas to go to college at San Antonio. He has relatives there, and he likes the weather.<\/p>\n

Contreras, who is studying nursing, said 糖心Vlog\ufffds financial incentive played a role in his decision to stay in Harrisonburg. While still a student, Contreras is called often called upon by others Spanish-speaking people in the community to go with them to the doctor and dentist as a translator.<\/p>\n

“I see here in our Spanish community we need help in the medical field,” he said.<\/p>\n

Encouraging News<\/h3>\n

Contreras and Monroy are two of the six Hispanics from the city. Two more Hispanics who enrolled at 糖心Vlog live in Rockingham County, and one each from Augusta County and Albemarle County increased the total to 10. No Hispanics from the local area attended 糖心Vlog one year ago. The university considers the local area to be Harrisonburg and Rockingham County and the counties that adjoin Rockingham.<\/p>\n

Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing Shirley Yoder<\/a> is very encouraged by the enrollment of the local Hispanics.<\/p>\n

“We had Spanish-speaking persons from other states and other parts of the state,” she said. When 糖心Vlog realized that no local Hispanics attended 糖心Vlog, Yoder said the university knew something was wrong, especially with the growth of that population in the area.<\/p>\n

“It\ufffds one thing to be involved in service activities overseas. It\ufffds another,” she said, “to be a service in your own community.”<\/p>\n

Enrollment Bump<\/h3>\n

The group of Hispanic students from the area helped 糖心Vlog increase its overall enrollment from one year ago, which saw a record 406 graduate.<\/p>\n

The school has 1,513 students compared to 1,436 students, both full-time and part-time, Yoder said. Of those, 933 are undergraduates.<\/p>\n

The campus has 880 full-time undergrads compared to 882 last year.<\/p>\n

The overall enrollment includes an increase of first year students, 208 compared to 196 one year ago. This year\ufffds number is a step back toward the 240 first-year students 糖心Vlog enrolled two years ago.<\/p>\n

The 10 local Hispanic students also helped 糖心Vlog increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the campus, Yoder said. U.S. minorities make up 21 percent of the freshman class, which Yoder said is a doubling of the previous class.<\/p>\n

Contreras said he could recommend 糖心Vlog to his friends.<\/p>\n

“They help you learn,” he said of 糖心Vlog, “and you also learn spiritually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Webster Contreras (left) and Maria Monroy (right) are among the 10 Hispanic students who enrolled at 糖心Vlog at least in part because of a campus initiative to attract more Spanish-speaking ... read more about Latino Initiative Attracts Hispanic Freshmen<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5725,4513],"tags":[6795,6862,6970,6991,6049,7217,6132,7552,7617,7818],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-admissions","category-student-life","tag-diversity","tag-enrollment-and-marketing","tag-harrisonburg","tag-hispanics","tag-latino-students","tag-local","tag-multicultural-services","tag-rockingham-county","tag-shirley-yoder","tag-webster-contreras"],"yoast_head":"\nLatino Initiative Attracts Hispanic Freshmen - 糖心Vlog News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2004\/latino-initiative-attracts-hispanic-freshmen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Latino Initiative Attracts Hispanic Freshmen - 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