Outreach to Hispanics results in largest one-year jump in minority students
Janel Shoun |
Back in May, with just one month left until her high school graduation, Naomi Florentino-Bustamante of Smyrna had no idea where she would be when fall 2008 came.
| Naomi Florentino-Bustamante |
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More about Naomi Florentino-Bustamante, award-winning engineering student |
She knew that giving up her dream for a college education was not an option, but spring was here and the Mexican native had no strong options for finding the money to attend a university.
That is until she met Ricky Holaway, Lipscomb’s director of admissions, at the YMCA of Middle Tennessee Hispanic Achievers program. There she learned that Lipscomb was excited to welcome local Hispanic students and had established a scholarship of up to $5,500 per year for eligible Hispanic students, awarded through the YMCA.
Now she’s studying mechanical engineering at Lipscomb with plans to someday design robotic prosthetics for patients who have lost a limb. “If it wasn’t for Lipscomb saying, ‘Come to our school,’ I don’t know where I would be right now. Lipscomb is such a big part of my life,” said Florentino-Bustamante.
She’s not the only one. In a targeted effort over the past year, Lipscomb University has increased the number of Hispanic students on campus by 21. That’s the largest one-year jump in Hispanic students in at least 20 years.
Total minority student numbers rose from 10.43 percent of the student body to 12.5 percent of the student body, also the largest jump in at least 20 years. And those numbers don’t count the 64 international students who are on campus this fall, an increase from 38 last fall.
“In the past couple of years, we began to seriously target Hispanic students in Middle Tennessee because we were seeing such a great need,” said Holaway. “Our state has this huge rapidly growing market of young Hispanics, and they are excited about learning and going to college, but there are not enough organizations welcoming them and going out of their way to make it possible for them to fulfill those dreams. We wanted to do that here at Lipscomb.”
More than 14 percent of Nashville’s public school students are Latino, and according to the Nashville Chamber of Commerce’s 2008 Workforce Study, 83 percent of new Hispanic residents arriving in Nashville between 2000 and 2006 were either prime working age adults (25-44) or children under age 14.
As part of its outreach to those Hispanic students, Lipscomb:
- Established the Saint Thomas Health Services Nursing Advantage Scholarships in spring 2008, providing $16,000 a year for up to five Hispanic freshmen majoring in nursing;
- Followed that in summer 2008 with the Lipscomb Hispanic Achievers Scholarships, up to $5,500 per year for four years, in addition to standard tuition discounts and awards for academic merit. These scholarships are awarded by the YMCA of Middle Tennessee to Hispanic students who meets Lipscomb’s admission criteria.
- And beginning in fall 2009, Lipscomb’s Multicultural Award, a $500 scholarship that has been offered for some years, will be bumped up to as much as $1,000 per year for minority students who meets Lipscomb’s admission criteria.
Admissions criteria for Lipscomb freshman are a grade point average of 2.5 or better, an ACT score of 21 or higher (or equivalent on the SAT) and strong educational and personal references.
As part of its outreach efforts, Lipscomb hosted the first Hispanic Student Graduation Celebration held by the Comité de Padres Latinos (COPLA) on campus this past spring as well as the YMCA Hispanic Achievers annual parents dinner this past fall. The admissions department has also developed printed marketing materials in Spanish.
In continuing efforts, the admissions department is putting more resources into recruiting international students, Holaway said, a move designed to build on this year’s increase in the number of internationals on campus.
That jump came primarily due to 26 new students from Madagascar who came to Nashville thanks to a relationship established in May with the president of Madagascar, who has worked closely with Franklin-based ministry World Christian Broadcasting and local benefactors.
Lipscomb's most recent minority scholarships at a glance
Note: These scholarships were available at the time of publication (12/23/2008), and may no longer be offered. Check with your admissions counselor or contact admissions [at] lipscomb.edu for more information.
Saint Thomas Health Services Nursing Advantage Scholarships
- Provides $16,000 annual scholarships for up to five Hispanic freshmen enrolling in the nursing program.
- Scholarship recipients are required to complete at least one additional clinical rotation at Saint Thomas Health Services hospitals and to pledge to work at Saint Thomas for two years upon graduation.
- Contact the Lipscomb admissions office, 966-1776, for an application.
Lipscomb Hispanic Achievers Scholarships
- Provides grants of up to $22,000 per student over a four-year period ($5,500 per year).
- For an undesignated number of Latino students who meet the university’s admissions criteria.
- Contact Jessie Garcia Van De Griek, 834-1300, at the YMCA of Middle Tennessee for an application.
Pathways to Pharmacy Scholarship
- Provides a $1,000 non-recurring grant for any minority student or member of an underrepresented population enrolled in Lipscomb’s pharmacy program.
- Students must have a bachelor’s degree or have completed a minimum of 66 undergraduate hours in order to enter the pharmacy doctorate program.
- Contact Paige Akers at the pharmacy program admissions office, 966-6656, for an application.
Lipscomb Multicultural Award
- Provides grants of up to $1,000 per year for an undesignated number of minority students who meet admissions criteria.
- Contact the Lipscomb admissions office, 966-1776, for an application.