WORTHINGTON -- Area Hispanic leaders and Minnesota West staff and faculty met Tuesday to discuss higher education options for Hispanic students.
The meeting was the second in a series of discussions designed to find ways to bring a stronger Hispanic presence to the campus.
Raquel Andrade, a Minnesota West alumna from Mexico, shared her experiences as a non-traditional, immigrant student.
"I feel it really prepared me," she said of the college.
Andrade also had suggestions for reaching out to the Hispanic community.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Having a presence from the college at the high school would be powerful," she said, adding that informing students about opportunities available is key.
"They don't know that they can come to college," she added. "Sometimes it's just a lack of information."
Getting information should be as easy as possible, pointed out others. They said students who are interested in college but don't know who to contact for more information often give up.
Jerry Jansen and Dennis Hampel presented information on post-secondary options for high school students and the college system's technical programs.
"You could start and perhaps take classes for college if you're undocumented, because that's already paid for," said Worthington Campus CEO Marnie Fischer of the PSEO program.
Andrade suggested getting information to area Hispanics by meeting them in their comfort zone -- attending church or other similar activities, rather than asking them to come to a separate meeting.
Faith Drent, from the school's financial aid office, presented information on paying for college, including grants, loans, scholarships and work study.
"There's a lot of scholarship opportunities for Hispanic students whether you're documented or undocumented," added Fischer.
