Imagine you are a native of south Texas, perhaps with deep connections to your Hispanic heritage. You’ve proven yourself an outstanding student at community college. It’d be a ‘dream come true’ to advance to a quality four-year program, if only you had the resources.

Thanks to an innovative partnership between UNI and Palo Alto (Texas) Community College (PAC), students are getting that opportunity and succeeding beyond their expectations. The UNI/PAC Recruitment Initiative is a nationally recognized model for effectiveness and has expanded to include all four community colleges in the Alamo Community College District (ACCD).

The brainchild of UNI Director of Enrollment Management Services Roland Carrillo and Palo Alto Education Support Specialist Charley Garcia, the program is designed specifically to deliver ‘underserved’ students with academic credentials and financial need into an undergraduate program. Since 1998, UNI/PAC has enrolled 133 participants at UNI. Of those, 70 have graduated (an additional 13 will graduate by fall 2006) with 31 percent going on to graduate programs.

“The initiative brings together all of the essential participants—UNI and PAC staff members, students, parents and program alumni. Participants and their families have the benefit of the most informed and supportive learning environment imaginable,” Carrillo said.

Visits to the UNI campus are a distinctive feature of the initiative. Each spring, students and family members are invited to see what transfer to UNI and life in Iowa would be like. Involvement with familiar cultural activities and other PAC students, Jump Start orientation, intensive advising and mentoring are all part the support package.

Lorena Knight learned about UNI through the Palo Alto Community College Transfer Center. She enrolled at UNI in fall 2002, earned her B.A. in English in 2004 and this spring completed her M.A. in English. She taught College Reading and Writing and worked for the literary journal, the North American Review, as well. Her husband, Matthew, was staff photographer in UNI’s Office of University Marketing and Public Relations through May 2006. Their children are Macy (7) and Noah (9).

“It was my dream to go to a university out of state, but I was afraid of being so far away from home,” Knight said. “To us it was the most important decision of our lives. On the spring visit to UNI, I brought Matthew with me and we fell in love with the community. We got connected with Hispanic-Latino students there and we visited the school our children would be attending. The support was phenomenal.

“As a minority woman, it is so important to be able obtain a higher education and to have other minority women see that academic achievement is a viable option.”

John Solis was the first student recruited to UNI in 1998. He earned his B.A. in management and business administration in 2000, and his M.A. in communication and training technology in 2003. Solis has just completed a Ph.D. program in education at the University of Wyoming-Laramie.

“The UNI/PAC Initiative provided an educational opportunity that I never thought I would have as a minority,” Solis said. “After Mr. Carrillo and Mrs. (Juanita) Wright visited PAC, I realized that UNI’s Initiative would provide an opportunity to explore a different culture and interact with students outside my hometown of San Antonio.  

“The support systems at UNI were critical in adjusting to the new environment. I knew conceptually how credit hours worked, but the challenge was adjusting to the fast-paced flow of a four-year university. My experience at UNI taught me how to socialize with others, establish career goals and set an example for other minorities on the importance of quality education and provided the foundation for doctoral studies.”

Gloria Adams, center, was among the prospective UNI students who traveled from Texas to visit campus this spring. Her daughter, at right, accompanied her.