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Students and families from crossed the Valley gathered astatine Fresno State connected Oct. 5 to instrumentality portion successful the university’s 9th Feria de Educación, an yearly lawsuit meant to empower the Spanish-speaking assemblage and link them with resources to acceptable themselves up for occurrence successful higher education.
Feria de Educación was implemented astatine Fresno State and different California State University campuses successful concern with Univision arsenic portion of the CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025, aimed astatine eliminating equity gaps successful assemblage readiness and grade completion.
“We are expecting 5,000 radical today,“ University President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval said successful his opening remarks. “That is 5,000 radical that volition larn astir the powerfulness of higher acquisition today.”
An each time event, Feria de Educación offered a assets fair, entree to migration services, field tours, a kids country and speechmaking garden. Feria included a assortment of informative workshops connected topics including fiscal assistance and assistance opportunities, what to expect during the archetypal twelvemonth of assemblage and processing social-emotional skills.
Feria de Educación besides emphasized and celebrated Hispanic/Latinx creation and culture, with performances from Mariachi Orgullo Fresno State, Los Danzantes de Aztalan and Osmar Villa Beltran, a ranchero vocalist and aspiring Bulldog presently attending Fresno City College. Throughout the day, families were besides capable to circuit ‘Wings of the City,’ the recently installed creation grounds successful the Maple Mall, featuring 5 sculptures by world-renowned Mexican creator Jorge Marín.
Martina Granados, elder manager of Outreach and Special Programs astatine Fresno State, explained the value of the statues’ beingness astatine Feria de Educación.“For immoderate of our familias, this volition beryllium their archetypal vulnerability to creation of that kind,” Granados said.
“It’s important for our familias to spot themselves represented and envision themselves here; this is their field and they are invited here. They beryllium here. I’m a first-generation student, I graduated from Fresno State, I cognize the interaction events similar this tin have.”
Among the thousands of this year’s attendees was Alan Araujo, a 5th grader from Parlier. Araujo shared helium was truthful excited to be Feria de Educación that helium woke up that greeting astatine 4 a.m. He looks guardant to participating successful much outreach programming and aboriginal becoming a Bulldog.
As a Hispanic Serving Institution, Fresno State sees tens of thousands of students similar Araujo connected field each year. In the 2023-24 world year, Hispanic students made up 58.5% of the pupil population, and this autumn made up implicit 60%. And, similar Granados, galore of those students are first-generation assemblage students.
“Our students and alumni person been and proceed to beryllium trailblazers, utilizing the powerfulness of higher acquisition to amended their lives and that of their communities and aboriginal generations,” said Dr. Kent Willis, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
“We connection programming and services to assistance students beryllium palmy successful their studies and their lives overall, year-round. And with galore of our unit and module being Bulldog alumni and implicit 25% of them with a Hispanic background, they tin straight subordinate to the experiences of our students and connection them the guidance and mentorship needed.”
In summation to specialized outreach programming, Hispanic/Latinx students tin enactment successful a assortment of specialized enactment services erstwhile they are afloat enrolled astatine the university, including those offered by the College Assistance Migrant Program and the DREAM Success Center.
With its continued efforts to enactment Hispanic/Latinx students, Fresno State was precocious recertified with the Seal of Excelencia, a prestigious designation “for institutions that strive to spell beyond enrollment and much intentionally service Latino students.”
Visit https://studentaffairs.fresnostate.edu/student-resources.html to larn much astir programs and services disposable done the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
