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Program brings life to Hispanic student retention
By Barbara Hernandez
bhernan5@mscd.edu

An organization devoted to promoting higher education and Hispanic leadership teamed up with Regis University in early September to kick off Colorado’s first Latin Initiative to Foster Empowerment.

LIFE is a program sponsored by the National Society of Hispanic MBAs whose primary goal is to increase the undergraduate graduation rate among Hispanic students through networking.

Volunteer members of NSHMBA and Hispanic leaders gathered on the Regis campus as role models to encourage Hispanic undergraduate students in pursuing academic and professional success in an attempt to create a community of connection.

“Studies show Hispanic undergraduates drop out before Thanksgiving because they haven’t connected,” NSHMBA President Stephanie Herrera said.

“LIFE is here to give and create a comfort zone for Hispanic undergraduates,” said Ester Baca-McKeever, vice president of education for NSHMBA.

Board members from NSHMBA, UPS, the Latin American Educational Foundation and the Denver Latina Chamber of Commerce spoke about the importance of leadership, professional networking and access to money for college.

Every Hispanic undergraduate in Colorado was welcomed to the LIFE event, though the only schools represented were Regis University and Westwood College.

In the future, LIFE would like to develop more representation from universities and colleges in Colorado, Baca-McKeever said.

Metro undergraduates were not present for the LIFE kickoff.

However, Baca-McKeever said she hopes the program will become an intra-college program.
Ramon del Castillo, a Metro associate professor of Chicano/a studies, said strategy should be attached to the new program for it to be supported.

Herrera said the University of Colorado at Denver would soon be a LIFE participant.

“Educators need to work together for students to succeed by means of providing tutoring, counseling and mentoring,” Castillo said.

According to the LIFE website, in 2005 the Alcoa Foundation provided grants to NSHMBA chapters in San Antonio, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Denver with the intention that the low undergraduate graduation rate for Hispanic students would be addressed.

“We can have the LIFE program at every campus because a national grant will pay for it,” Herrera said.

Each LIFE chapter in the nation will host LIFE events in the fall and spring semesters, targeting entering or second-year students, according to Baca-Mckeever.

Every year NHSMBA offers $1 million in scholarships to graduate students.

In Denver alone, Hispanic graduate students received a total of $25,000 in scholarships.