With the help of money from a national $600,000 grant, five local colleges will be working with a philanthropic organization to make higher education more accessible to the growing Hispanic population.
The Lumina Foundation, a national institution that advocates for higher education, awarded the grant to an international organization for its “Triangle for Latino Student Success” project.
The international organization, called Hispanics in Philanthropy, promotes the welfare of the Latino community. It is partnering with a state group that focuses on Latino educational issues to implement the project.
The project, which intends to prepare the rising population of Latinos in the Triangle for higher education, will take on a multipronged approach, said Althea Gonzalez, N.C. program manager for Hispanics in Philanthropy.
It will help students through high school and the university application process, help families understand the process and work with counselors in the K-12 system, she said.
Universities will also be a part of the equation.
“We will be working with universities and colleges to attract and retain Latino students and deal with the barriers that Latino students face,” Gonzalez said.
There will be a six-month planning period, she said, and the bulk of the work will start in April and May.
The project targets three counties in the Research Triangle area as well as five colleges — Meredith College, N.C. State University and three community colleges.