The Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services (LARES) program was established in 1975 to assist the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) in recruiting Latino students and providing them with the academic support needed to increase their chances for success. Its mission is to empower students by providing personal growth and educational opportunities while also preparing them to emerge as leaders who will make individual and collective contributions toward the cultural and social advancement of the Latino community.
Since its inception, LARES has grown from serving 100 Latino students to its current enrollment of more than 3,300. Through ongoing activism, it has established itself as the premier Latino academic support program in the State of Illinois and the largest academic support unit on UIC’s campus. In turn, UIC has emerged as a major center for Latino education in the Midwest, granting the largest number of baccalaureate degrees and enrolling the largest number of Latino graduate and professional students among higher education institutions in the region. LARES’ intentional strategies for serving Latino students have led the program to receive the Seal of Excelencia from Excelencia in Education and paved the way for UIC to emerge as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), enrolling the most Latino students of any Illinois public or private institution.
To address the comprehensive needs of Latino students and fuel their retention and graduation rates, LARES has developed numerous initiatives, including the LARES Summer Institute, LARES Leaders Academy, LARES Students Exploring, Engaging, and Developing Skills (SEEDS) Career Initiative, and LARES Male Initiative.
LARES Leadership Initiatives
The LARES Summer Institute is a weeklong program for incoming Latino freshmen interested in becoming change agents for the Latino community. The goal is to develop strong Latino leaders who are not only passionate about their educational and professional endeavors but also committed to the empowerment of Latinos. Participants are exposed to discussions on identity and race, the historical and present-day socioeconomic and political struggles of Latinos in the U.S., and civic engagement strategies aimed at fostering change. Since its inception in 2013, 350 incoming Latino freshmen have taken part in this initiative. Students have consistently reported that participation in this institute not only prompted them to become change agents for the Latino community but also triggered a strong desire to remain connected to the LARES program and engage in extracurricular activities.
Upon completing this weeklong program, participants are invited to join the LARES Leaders Academy. In addition to providing leadership training and opportunities to current and prospective executive board members of UIC Latino student organizations, the yearlong program also establishes a leadership pipeline whereby first year students learn from seasoned Latino student leaders on campus. This initiative offers intensive leadership seminars focused on personal growth, professional development, Latino policy exploration, and civic engagement. The program allows students to foster strong networks not only with their peers but also with Latino professionals from various industries and sectors. Students who have taken part in the LARES leadership pipeline have not only demonstrated high retention and graduation rates, they have also gone on to create new student organizations, engaged in undergraduate research, gained acceptance into fellowship programs, earned distinguished public and private sector internships, and held prominent university leadership positions including Board of Trustees Student Representative. Since its inception in 2011, over 500 students have taken part in this leadership initiative; many of them remained members until their graduation.
Beyond Leadership: Continuing Support for Latino Students
The success of the LARES leadership pipeline has paved the way for new programming designed to continue addressing the growing needs of Latino students. The LARES SEEDS Career Initiative is a semester-long program that provides a space for Latino freshmen and sophomores to discover their professional interests through career exploration. Students who participate in this initiative take part in six workshops featuring guest speakers from a gambit of fields and industries. Workshops include self-exploration as related to the students’ interests, values, and skills; the development of tools needed for major and career exploration; and opportunities to network with UIC Latino alumni who share their career journeys and provide insight into their respective fields. Since its inception in 2021, 60 students have taken part in this program. Participants have not only touted the benefits of SEEDS, but they have also underscored their sense of belonging. As echoed by many SEEDS participants, “I feel like this program kept me accountable and motivated me to be more involved in my career exploration because every minute counts. It also gave me a safe space to express the fact that I did not know what I was doing. This program provided the reassurance I needed.”
The LARES Project HOMBRES is a direct response to national higher education trends underscoring low enrollment, retention, and graduation rates for Latino male students. In this semester-long program, Latino male undergraduates are not only exposed to the skill sets needed to challenge social norms but they are also provided with an affinity space designed to boost their self-esteem, sense of belonging, and the resiliency needed to achieve their educational and career goals. Workshops focus on the importance of mentorship, personal development, and self-awareness, in addition to explorations of social constructs, including Masculinity/Machismo, the importance of a sense of belonging, the Vanishing Latino Male in higher education, mental health preconceptions, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and Latinos in the workforce. Since its inception in 2021, participant feedback has continuously underscored the value of building a community for Latino males and providing a space where young Latino men can break barriers and discuss sensitive topics without feeling less of a “man.”
For almost 50 years, LARES has aimed to strengthen the Latino education pipeline. To fulfill its mission, the program has developed numerous initiatives aimed at addressing the comprehensive needs of Latino students. In addition to its own independent projects, LARES cooperates with institutional and external actors on Latino-focused initiatives and acts as a reference point directing students to appropriate resources and networks. Through this three-pronged approach, Latino undergraduates are supported throughout their academic journey.
About the author
Dr. Mitzi Ramos is the LARES Associate Director of Graduate Student Professional & Career Development. She holds a B.A. in English and Spanish from WIU, an M.P.A. from SIUC, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from UIC. She is a DFI fellow, ILACHE Leadership Award recipient, and a Chicago Latino Caucus Foundation’s Leadership Academy fellow.
