Latinx Student Success Programs

The following is a list of programs sponsored through the Chicanx/Latinx Student Success Center (aka Centro), which was established in 2018. Centro supports the holistic wellbeing of Latinx students at SJSU, encouraging them to develop academic identities that are rooted in their home identities and cultural values. This programming is organized by Centro staff, Student Success Leaders, Adelante mentors, and faculty and staff volunteers from across campus.

• Latinx Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) 

  • SJSU celebrates Latinx Heritage Month each fall by offering an array of programs and events that bring awareness to the diverse and rich cultures, histories, traditions, contributions and resilience of Latinx/a/o/ communities around the world. In collaboration with various campus departments and student organizations, programs that are offered focus on:

    • Celebrating Latinx/a/o culture, history, and heroes;
    • Challenging deficit, racist, and discriminatory narratives about Latinx/a/o communities; and
    • Highlighting Latinx/a/o community movements, organizations, and/or individuals who are leading the fight for racial and social justice.
• Chicanx/Latinx Fall Welcome (Fall)

  • In direct collaboration with SJSU Chicanx/Latinx student organizations, academic departments, and student support services, Centro welcomes incoming and returning students to the new academic year at SJSU. We celebrate and recognize the hard work students dedicated to arrive and excel at SJSU, and we connect them to various SJSU community members committed to Latinx student success. We celebrate this moment as a community with food and performances.  

• Academic Resilience Workshop Series (Fall)

  • This workshop series, facilitated by Centro's Faculty Fellows, provides students with tangible strategies for achieving academic success. Students are introduced to the broader framework that encourages them to define “success” in ways they find personally meaningful. Each session is intentionally designed to be interactive to allow the opportunity for community-building and help students be aware that they are not alone in navigating academia.

• Student Leadership Retreat (SLR) (Fall)

  • The primary goal of the SLR is to build a culturally-relevant academic community for Chicanx/Latinx student success at SJSU.  The SLR provides students with identity development, specifically focused on critical facets of their non-student identities (ethnic, racial, cultural, familial), in order to address the institutional barriers encountered on the path towards degree completion. The SLR  team works closely with student participants to emphasize emotional clarity, growth and intelligence, along with leadership development and empowerment toward action. 

• Adelante First-Year Experience Mentorship Program (Fall and Spring)

  • The Adelante Chicanx/Latinx Mentorship & Leadership Program launched in Fall 2020 with a cohort of 30 undergraduate Latinx student participants. This First-Year Experience Program is designed to support first-generation Latinx students’ transition from high school to college. Student participants receive holistic support including: one-on-one peer mentoring, priority registration, personal counseling, and academic advising. Centro has partnered with seven college student success centers to offer academic advising support across all academic disciplines. 

    
    Centro received a grant from the Latino Education Advancement Foundation (LEAF) for the 2022-23 AY to enhance Adelante’s impact on Latinx student success. As a result, Centro was able to increase the number of peer mentors and scale the program to serve 50 undergraduate Latinx first-year students. Latinx students who participate in Adelante persist into their second year at higher rates than Latinx students who do not participate in a first-year experience program. Many students who were mentees in their first year return to Centro in a leadership role to serve as mentors. This leadership experience has demonstrated its effectiveness in increasing Latinx students’ persistence into their third year at SJSU. 

    The Adelante Chicanx/Latinx Mentorship & Leadership Program launched in Fall 2020 with a cohort of 30 undergraduate Latinx student participants. This First-Year Experience Program is designed to support first-generation Latinx students’ transition from high school to college. Student participants receive holistic support including: one-on-one peer mentoring, priority registration, personal counseling, and academic advising. Centro has partnered with seven college student success centers to offer academic advising support across all academic disciplines. 

    
    Centro received a grant from the Latino Education Advancement Foundation (LEAF) for the 2022-23 AY to enhance Adelante’s impact on Latinx student success. As a result, Centro was able to increase the number of peer mentors and scale the program to serve 50 undergraduate Latinx first-year students. Latinx students who participate in Adelante persist into their second year at higher rates than Latinx students who do not participate in a first-year experience program. Many students who were mentees in their first year return to Centro in a leadership role to serve as mentors. This leadership experience has demonstrated its effectiveness in increasing Latinx students’ persistence into their third year at SJSU. 

     

• Student & Faculty Connections (Fall and Spring)

  • To facilitate the building of positive and healthy working relationships between students and faculty (professors), students and faculty enjoy a meal together and engage in meaningful dialogue that helps them have a better understanding of each others’ lived experiences. Through these connections, students walk away knowing more students and faculty in their majors who can support them, having insights on how to achieve their personal and academic aspirations, and feeling more confident in expressing their needs and interests to professors. 

     

• Student & Advisor Connections (Fall and Spring)

  • A unique opportunity for students to learn about and connect with the SJSU advising community. Similar to the Student & Faculty Dinners, the focus of the Student & Advisor Dinners is to foster positive working relationships between advisors and students. Students walk away with: an increased awareness of the various advising support available;  feeling more comfortable reaching out to advisors with relevant questions related to their needs, interests and goals; and advisor (s) contact information to continue the relationship beyond the dinner. 

• Graduate School Preparation Series (Spring)

  • This workshop series, facilitated by Centro’s Faculty Fellows, provides students with key information and resources needed as they consider engaging in undergraduate research and applying to graduate and professional school. These workshops are open to all students. Workshop topics will range from identifying the right graduate school programs and approaching potential mentors to preparing the statement of purpose for graduate school & obtaining strong letters of recommendation. Even if students do not think graduate school is for them, students are encouraged to attend. 

• Speaker Series (Spring)

  • This interactive series aims to empower students by connecting them to SJSU alumni and local community members who have overcome challenging barriers and strive to help their community. Speakers share their culturally relevant stories with students and focus on a variety of topics. All students are welcome to attend. 

• Chicano Commencement (Spring)

  • Chicano Commencement is an SJSU tradition established more than 50 years ago. It offers Latinx graduates the opportunity to celebrate their degrees with their loved ones in a bilingual ceremony that incorporates a variety of Latinx cultural elements. Historically, Chicano Commencement operated as a student org that required participants to aggressively fundraise for the event; as a result, only 60 students participated in any given year due to the demanding workload. However, in 2022, Centro took the lead in organizing the event, and as a result of this transition, participation increased by 400% to 300 students (out of 2000 eligible Latinx graduates).