Paragon Spotlight

Thoughts as a First-Gen, Spanish-Speaking Latina         

By Stephanie Reyna, District 6 DEI Committee rep

As a Hispanic Serving Institution (meaning at least 25% of our student population is Hispanic/Latino-identifying students), Saddleback College in California was motivated by our sister college, Irvine Valley College, to expand our Spanish-language advertising. Instead of simply translating our English ads into Spanish, we wanted to produce intentional, strategic and relevant ads that answered the questions of prospective students and their families.

We worked with a vendor, Gallegos, who specializes in Spanish-language advertising. After many conversations with our executive director of marketing and communications and our bilingual enrollment coaches, Gallegos crafted a campaign with messages that met our strategy: to get Hispanic students and adults in Orange County who are intimidated by the cost of college to see Saddleback College as a supportive friend who can make it surprisingly easy to enroll and get financial aid. 

As an Argentinian-American first-generation college student with immigrant parents, who were then not familiar with the world of American higher education, my and my family's biggest concerns were

1. The cost of higher ed.
2. Access.
3. Staying close to home.

Twenty plus years later, those same concerns persist among Hispanic/Latino first-gen students and their families. Today’s students and families have an advantage over my generation, though: ads in their native language that also code-switch, the same way many bilingual speakers do.

For my sisters and me, going away to school was not an option, which is similar to many students currently at Saddleback. Having Saddleback in close proximity to where those students live made it an easy choice – they could study and earn a degree but still be close enough to work and help out at home.

The cost of higher ed is always a concern, too. My parents had to figure out how to pay for three kids to get through college, even in times of unemployment and when we didn’t qualify for financial aid. Today’s students have the same concern. Through this ad campaign and by speaking to our enrollment coaches, prospective students are surprised by how easy it is to apply for financial aid. They're surprised, too, that they can get assistance from college staff to do so.

And finally, we know representation matters. In this case, it mattered to our students because the ads featured students who looked like them, spoke like them and asked the same questions they had about college.

As for me, the project made me feel less alone, knowing that families like mine are still having these conversations. These students also straddle the line between a Hispanic/Latino household and the American world outside their home, and I like knowing that I – and Saddleback – can meet those students where they are, whatever their particular needs and situations.

Stephanie Reyna, left, is the District 6 rep on NCMPR's DEI Committee. She works at California's Saddleback College, which won the gold Paragon Award in 2023 for Successful Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Marketing.