DAYTON, Ohio — This Hispanic Heritage month, one university is seeing record growth in the Hispanic student population. Educators say their efforts to help students through the Latino Center are working. 

What You Need To Know

  • Wright State University educators said they are seeing a record growth in the university's Hispanic and Latino populations

  • Educators credit the increase to the Latino Center, a place on campus where Latino students can come and find help making the transition to college life 

  • Latino students who have been very involved in the process were recognized for their efforts this month.

Amy Walker traveled almost 20,000 miles away from her family to study for her college degree.

“I always loved languages, like my first language is Spanish. I learned English too, at the same time and then I’m learning French or I speak French, so I am trilingual finally,” said Walker. 

Raised in the Dominican Republic, she wants to be a translator and came to Wright State University in Dayton to do it. That’s when she said she found a second family.

“It was just like a breath of fresh air. I was like, at home, you know, it’s like definitely like at home,” said Walker. 

She met students like Felipe Perez at the university’s Latino Center.

“At that time, I couldn’t really find my place here on campus. I didn’t really know where I fit in. I didn’t really see people in my class that were like me or that looked like me and so finding the space and meeting the people that were here was like just one of the most important things I could ever do,” said Perez. 

Together, they’ve been helping students like themselves transition to college.

“There’s so much research out there that tells us that if a student feels like they belong on campus, they’re more likely to come back each semester and finish their degree,” said Latino Center adviser Catherine Hernandez-Hogan. 

“In the last two years, we’ve been able to increase our Latino student population by almost 30% and when we zoom in to first time latino students, we’ve almost been able to double it at 46%,” she said. 

That’s why Hernandez-Hogan said the center has been recognized for helping Latino students and now they plan to recognize these students with college scholarships to help beyond the classroom.

“Oh, it’s a huge honor,” said Perez. 

“Oh, my gosh. It’s amazing, like hard work does pay off,” said Walker.