Araceli Munoz Salazar, Latinx Engagement Coordinator
In a post-COVID world, higher education professionals encounter more students who are having difficulty finding their place on campus as we return to in-person classes and face-to-face environments, activities, and events. Sense of belonging is key for students to feel like they can ask for help and succeed overall, but how can we, as staff and faculty, help our students feel like they "belong"? Now more than ever, it is important to have collaboration amongst staff and faculty across different institutions to promote the utilization of all available resources to our students.
Recently, several staff, faculty and administrators at Waubonsee met to discuss the book "Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in Practice: Defining 'Servingness' at HSIs" by Gina Ann Garcia. For me, one of the key takeaways from these discussions was realizing how many of our Waubonsee staff and faculty had the same values and mindset of serving our students and now had the opportunity to discuss and provide perspective in our roles as colleagues. Our faculty have become supportive allies by talking with their students about the services the Latinx Resource Center (LRC) provides. As part of the LRC, I now think about how we can further collaborate with our faculty to reach more students, connect them to resources, and help them feel like they "belong" after being so disconnected. We want to invite faculty and student services to collaborate with us. Let's work together to achieve our goals.
As a team, we can bridge the gap where we may be missing students and connect them to those needed resources. In addition, by inviting outside members of our organization to help us enhance a better service model, we can increase our effectiveness in creating a sense of belonging for the students we serve. Data collection will be critical to guiding us to help further our students--keeping track of which and how students are using services will equip us with the necessary information to know where support is needed. With collaboration, we can create a pipeline of academics to student services to the LRC and vice versa. The LRC is always open to those wondering how they can help their Latinx students.
I encourage anyone who wants to meet with us or see our space, reach out and visit! As we continue to explore and adapt to new circumstances, such as remote and digital learning, we, as higher education professionals, are responsible for connecting and collaborating to help our students feel like they belong. We can proactively respond to the new "normal" of students who only have experience in remote and online learning by collaborating across departments, campuses, institutions, and cities to create student belonging.
