Invited to speak at TEDx UWCCR

Dr. Kevin Ferreira van Leer, one of the co-Leads of the Using Our Voices to Transform HSIs Collaborative was invited to speak at TEDx UWCCR. This TEDx event was organized by current students at UWC Costa Rica.

The talk entitled, "Do they see us?" Using our voice to transform servingness in a Hispanic Serving Institution" shared how important student voice is in transforming educational institutions to better serve them. It was inspiring to be part of this TEDx event organized by current students.

As part of the talk, Dr. Ferreira van Leer shared the research project, “Finding Comunidad: Exploring ‘Servingness’ at a Hispanic Serving Institution". In this project Latine undergraduates were not just subjects of research, but co-creators of knowledge. This project is led alongside Dr. Amber Gonzalez along with 16 Latine student co-researchers @sacstate. This innovative 2-year project flips the script on traditional academic studies, placing Latine undergraduates at the forefront of investigating their own experiences and challenges. Dive into a rich tapestry of qualitative and quantitative data, woven together with student-captured photos and authentic voices.

Institutions of higher education in the U.S. fail to graduate Latine students at the same rate as their racial/ethnic peers. This is alarming as 1 in 4 children in the U.S. under 18 is now Latine.

We hope you can take some time to listen, learn a broader definition for student success in higher education, and see one way involving students within institutional decision-making can foster greater student success.