BENTONVILLE -- A Northwest Arkansas Community College program aimed at increasing Hispanic enrollment is getting a boost with a $432,883 grant from the Walton Family Foundation, according to a college news release.
LIFE is a mentorship program that increases Hispanic enrollment by empowering Latino youth to dream big, pursue higher education and become leaders on campus and in the community, the release states.
LIFE stands for learning, improvement, fun and empowerment. When the program launched in 2012, Hispanics made up 14% of the college's enrollment; that figure increased to as high as 22.6% in 2019, before dropping back to 20.6% last fall, according to the college's latest Fact Book.
The program invites high school students to participate in a three-day camp at the college each summer, with the goal of showing them what they can achieve in life by pursuing higher education. Camp participants also learn about things such as how to apply to and pay for college and what to expect once they're there. It is free to participants. College students serve as mentors.
Ethnicity isn't a consideration for participation, but the majority of students who participate are Hispanic.
The college plans to use some of the grant money to hire a LIFE student success coach and increase the staff's professional development opportunities, said Juanita Franklin, program director. Currently, Franklin and a part-time employee are the only college employees working on LIFE.
The new position will assist with LIFE students' transition to and retention in college by ensuring they have the resources and support needed for success, the release states. Franklin said Wednesday she has a candidate in mind for the new position and hopes to have that person start within the next two weeks.
Grant money also will go toward growing the LIFE program's offerings, including a Padres program, which helps Hispanic parents understand the college preparation and enrollment process so they can better support their students, Franklin said.
The grant also makes possible a second LIFE summer program that invites graduating seniors to campus for a day to experience one-on-one support as they prepare for college.
College officials are aiming for a Hispanic student enrollment of 25%, which would qualify the school as a Hispanic Serving Institution. Under that federal designation, the college would have access to federal and private funding that can help expand academic offerings that positively impact Hispanic student success, retention and graduation, as well as open up scholarship opportunities to students, according to the release.
The grant will play an important role in helping the college "remove barriers" in students' educational journeys, said Justin White, vice president of student services.
"As NWACC celebrates 10 years of the LIFE program, it is important that we reflect on that journey, celebrating our victories while acknowledging our opportunities," White said. "We look forward to moving toward [Hispanic Serving Institution] designation and utilizing its benefits to improve the lives of our Latino students and community."
The college held its LIFE summer program last month -- June 15-17 -- for the first time since 2019. It was canceled the past two years because of covid-19. This year's camp attracted just under 100 students, far fewer than the 256 students the program hosted in 2019, Franklin said.
"Honestly we did not want a high number because covid is not over," she said. "So it was a nice manageable group of students, who got some good attention."
Ninety percent of those students who attended last month's program are now enrolled in the college, Franklin said.
Areli Cabrera, 21, was raised by a single mother who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador.
Cabrera is now pursuing a psychology degree at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, after earning two associate degrees from Northwest Arkansas Community College. She participated in the LIFE summer program while she was a student at Rogers' Heritage High School.
"I knew no one the first day, and for me that was very hard because I was a very shy person," Cabrera said. "I was forced to open up and talk to new people and meet new people."
Cabrera earned a $1,000 scholarship through LIFE and realized the college was the place for her to begin her pursuit of higher education, she said. She liked the feeling of community the college provided and got the sense staff members wanted to help her.
Upon graduating high school in 2019, she applied to be a LIFE mentor to help other kids see they can go to college, too.
"Being in that role was really nice because I got to see people's lives change," Cabrera said.
Even though she has moved on to UA, she's still involved with the college as a LIFE "legacy mentor," which included helping out with this year's summer program.
Hispanic enrollment
Here’s how the number of Hispanic students enrolled at Northwest Arkansas Community College has changed over the past five fall semesters, with percentage of total enrollment:
Fall semester - Hispanic students - Total students - Hispanic student percentage
2017 - 1,234 - 7,715 - 16.0%
2018 - 1,730 - 7,979 - 21.7%
2019 - 1,895 - 8,383 - 22.6%
2020 - 1,651 - 7,411 - 22.3%
2021 - 1,453 - 7,037 - 20.6%
Source: Northwest Arkansas Community College Fact Book