BELTON, Texas — The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) has earned a special distinction in serving its student body.
The Belton-based university has earned the honor of being designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the Department of Education, meaning UMHB is one of an "elite group" of colleges that has reached 25% Hispanic enrollment.
"Our new HSI Designation confirms that we're embracing what it means to be a multicultural campus, and it opens the doors to expanding educational opportunities for Hispanic and Latin populations at this great university," Dr. Brandon Skaggs, UMHB's Vice President for Student Life, said in a release about the designation.
UMHB stated HSI-designated colleges enroll two-thirds of all Hispanic undergraduates in the United States, "driving the growth" of Hispanic-identifying people in the workforce.
The designation provides programs and initiatives to students annually, bringing together more than 700 participants from across the United States and Puerto Rico for workshops, networking opportunities and professional development, said UMHB.
Campus faculty, staff and students voiced their excitement over the designation, celebrating the milestone and Hispanic Heritage in general at the university's 9th Annual Latino Fest, also called the Fiesta en la Calle, on Thursday, Sept. 19, hosted by UMHB's Kingdom Diversity Office and the Hispanic Student Association (HSA).
Students and community members gathered at Luther Memorial on campus to celebrate with dancing, live performances from Guzman Ballet Folklorico and Mariachi Arriago de America, local vendors, a Spanish worship led by students and more all to celebrate the rich Hispanic and Latino culture on campus and in the area.
Cultures from around the world were honored as students carried in the flags of Latin American countries to fly alongside one another, recognizing the students and families from each country.
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Amy Perez is President of UMHB's Hispanic Student Association, and was one of the students helping to put on the Fiesta en la Calle.
"What we do is try to cultivate the campus and put on events like this where we can show people our heritage so they can join us in celebrating too," Perez told 6 News.
Perez said the HSA is one of the things that made her feel welcome on campus.
"When I got here as a freshman, I kind of felt lost, because my family, I left them, and I just felt like I was alone here," Perez said. "This little club has brought up such, like a family in my heart and I've just found lifelong friends here and it's just a basis for moral support while I'm going through my education."
Perez says she has seen the HSA grow even since she started at the university, and says she has seen the impact of the designation on UMHB.
"I believe I do see it in a lot of ways," said Perez. "One example is our club, because we used to just have like 10 members go to each meeting and now there's like 30... It's really such a wonderful experience to see how this campus has been growing."
Perez hopes the designation and events like the Fiesta en la Calle will help attract even more people to UMHB.
"Especially since we're not just marketing towards the students here, we're marketing across the whole campus, and I constantly have people telling me 'hey, no one ever puts on events like this', and it's just such a privilege for us to do something like this," Perez said.
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Students were not the only ones excited about the designation and celebration of culture, faculty members voiced their excitement over the news as well.
"UMHB has always been a campus that embraces its student body with the love of Christ," said Dr. Sanfrená Britt, Director of UMHB's Kingdom Diversity Office. "At UMHB, our students get the influence of the Christian faith while pursuing their education in a place where their culture is celebrated. We demonstrate our eagerness to learn and share each culture represented on campus through our many cultural awareness events."
Britt says creating a sense of belonging is the mission of the Kingdom Diversity Office, wanting students to feel reflected, embraced and at home in all aspects of campus. However, this designation is not just an achievement, she said, it is also a call to action.
"What it means for us is that we need to listen," Britt said. "To what we need to do to make sure that we're effectively serving them so that we're not just enrolling a population of students, but we're actually doing what it takes for them to feel at home while they're here and retain them until they graduate."
Britt says UMHB's environment is "unapologetically Christian", aiming to help students understand their purpose in their career as well as living a Christian life.
"We respect all cultures, because all mankind was created in the image of God," Britt told 6 News. "Now we offer that to the community as well, so the education that they receive at UMHB is one that's covered with Christian values and with the embrace of understanding that we were all created together in one space to occupy it together."
More about the HSI designation can be found at this link.
UMHB's full release on the designation can be found here.
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