Ryan Dangerfield | Staff Writer | ryandangerfield23@gmail.com
Photo courtesy of UVU Marketing/Latino Initiative
Utah Valley University was one of 16 finalists for the 2015 Example of Excelencia, America’s top programs that increase higher education achievement for Latino students.
In addition, Utah Valley University has been chosen by the White House Initiative to be featured in its “Bright Spots in Hispanic Education National Online Catalog.”
The announcement was made Sept. 15 at the start of Hispanic Heritage Month and in honor of the initiative’s 25th anniversary.
“It is an honor to be selected to represent the state of Utah on such an important matter,” said Yudi Lewis, president of the Latino Initiative. “This recognition speaks to the commitment that UVU has with the Latino community, and its efforts to provide educational access and degree completion of such an important growing Utah demographic.”
According to their website, “Examples of Excelencia is the only national initiative to systematically identify and promote programs and departments effectively boosting Latino enrollment performance and graduation.”
“The Latino Initiative is the opportunity for UVU to be inclusive of a population that is not coming to college in the volume that they should,” Lewis said. “We have the amazing opportunity to reach out and speak to students about their future.”
UVU is currently the largest provider of higher education for Latino students of all four-year institutions in Utah. It has also more than doubled its Latino graduates in the past five years and tripled its Latino enrollment.
“Our goal is for students to go to college. If they come to UVU, great. If they go to a different institution, great,” Lewis said. “The key is going to college and getting a college degree.”
UVU, as part of the Latino Initiative, is working in the community to make people aware about the process of admission, and is currently working with high school students to help them know which classes to take while they are still in high school, how to write college application essays and how to find money to attend school.
“Latino Heritage Month is important, because of the richness it represents in the Latino culture,” Lewis said. “And what Latinos mean for the United States of America, and for the world.”
