Worcester State University recently partnered with Telemundo, one of the largest Spanish-language television networks in the country, to celebrate student success and access in Latine communities.
In May, the university was featured on Telemundo’s local lifestyle program, Acceso Total de Nueva Inglaterra. On air, real Spanish-speaking students discussed their academic journeys, alongside university leaders who touched on Worcester State’s values of diversity and inclusion.
Edgar Moros, Worcester State’s executive director for Inclusive Excellence & Belonging, said his hope with the partnership was to help strengthen the already strong connection between the university and Spanish speaking communities in and around Worcester.
“One of the many things that makes Worcester special is its multiculturalism,” he said. “We are proud to call Worcester home, and so it’s critical that we make ourselves and our story available not only to our English speaking neighbors, but to all in our communities. This is just one of the ways we can do that.”
A Spanish speaker himself, Moros was featured in the video as a university spokesperson. After introducing the school, he discussed the diversity of Worcester State’s student body, and at the same time touted its academic enterprise as an excellent vehicle for career prep, as evidenced by the success of graduates.
“Students receive a first-class education here and they leave ready for the labor market in Massachusetts and the rest of the world,” he said in one of the videos. “We have even seen that our students, five years post-graduation, have made significant gains as far as salary is concerned.”
Indeed, Worcester State graduates have among the highest average earnings of all Massachusetts public colleges and universities five years after graduation [1], according to data released last fall by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.
Students featured in the videos shared their own personal reasons for attending Worcester State.
Melody Rodriguez Capellan, a business administration and communications major who appeared in the video, said she was excited by the opportunity to double major. Her goal was to learn the communications skills necessary to promote her business. That, she said, is one of the benefits of the university’s MajorPlus academic framework, which allows students to pursue two majors, or a major and a minor, and still graduate in four years.
“I was very interested in learning how to make promotional videos for my products, and to promote them effectively to get more clients and make connections,” she said. “I would have never imagined what it really means to have my own business. Worcester State has helped me reach that goal.”
The other featured student used the opportunity to highlight the university’s affordability. Michael Juarez, who studies business administration and Spanish, shared how he chose Worcester State for its low tuition cost and academic reputation. He went on to share how once on campus, he found a community to call home.
“I started participating in some clubs, then found a job as a tour guide, and now I’m the president of student government,” he said. “I’m now doing so many things by doing a simple thing: joining a club. I did that and now I have many friends and many opportunities.”
The stories, told in Spanish, also support enrollment initiatives, according to Vice President for Enrollment Management Dr. Ryan Forsythe.
“We’re all about meeting students where they are,” he said. “Whether we’re rolling out a city bus wrapped in Worcester State insignia or airing real student stories on Telemundo, our goal is the same: telling students in our communities that we are here to help them achieve their higher education goals.”
The feature video can be streamed online on the Acceso Total de Nueva Inglaterra website [2].