Serving and celebrating Latino students, culture

Students, staff and faculty gathered in the Satellite Student Union to kickoff Hispanic Heritage Month at La Bienvenida, an annual event celebrating Latino culture and community with food, music, an inspirational keynote address, a dance performance and a resource fair. 

La Bienvenida is a campus tradition that began in 2013. It is hosted by Fresno State’s Latina/o Faculty and Staff Association (LFSA) and sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management (DOSAEM). 

“La Bienvenida is a one-of-a-kind event,” said Estevan Parra Guerrero, LFSA president and director of Upward Bound—programming housed within DOSAEM that assists first-generation and low-income students in graduating from high school and preparing for higher education. 

estevan parra guerrero
Estevan Parra Guerrero

“I hope participants attending La Bienvenida can temporarily forget about their adversities and feel a sense of belonging and pride. I hope attendees feel heard, inspired, and seen. Fresno State is a Hispanic Serving Institution, and as a Latino who is working on his third Fresno State degree, I recognize and understand the importance of representation and spaces where you can be your authentic self.”

A first-generation student currently enrolled in Fresno State’s doctorate program, Parra Guerrero moved to Porterville from South Central Los Angeles with his family when he was 16 years old. He enrolled at Fresno State as an undergraduate in 2008, studying business administration. After working at a Fortune 500 company, he returned to the university for his masters degree and to start a career in which he could “pay it forward and uplift others.”

Parra Guerrero took an entry-level position on campus and later served as the coordinator of LGBTQ+ and gender programs and services at the Cross Cultural and Gender Center before taking on his current role with Upward Bound. 

As the director of Upward Bound, Parra Guerrero’s personal experiences as a student shape his work. He said, “I am a first-generation student who was low-income throughout my K-12, undergraduate and graduate years. I understand the feelings of fear and loneliness [that come] while surrounded by hundreds of students. In Upward Bound, I get to be the educator I needed when I was a student…One of the things I enjoy most about my position with Upward Bound is that I get to remind students, through the services and experiences we offer, that they are not alone in this journey.”

Upward Bound serves over 150 first-generation and low-income high school students from the Central Valley, helping them build a foundation to be successful in their pursuit of higher education. The program also creates experiences that give some students their first opportunity to travel outside of the Valley. 

“Over the summer, we invited all of our participants to take part in our six-week residential program, in which we visited seven universities from San Francisco to San Diego and concluded our program with a trip to Disneyland and California Adventure.”

“One of my many goals for the program is to one day take a group of students to Washington, D.C. to attend the National Student Leadership Congress, where first-generation students from across the country gather to find creative solutions to today’s societal issues.”

Parra Guerrero also aspires to create opportunities for students’ families to be more involved in the program. He said, “By uplifting students, we are also inspiring their families. The students’ success is also the families’ success.”

Upward Bound and La Bienvenida are two of many programs and events that DOSAEM has a hand in putting together in an effort to support Latino students. 

Dr. Kent Willis, vice president for the division, said, “It’s important that our students, both current and potential, feel support and a sense of belonging on campus; as a Hispanic Serving Institution, our Latino-focused programming offers that to a large portion of our students, many of whom are the first in their families to go to college. The traditions and opportunities we create for students lead to a direct, positive impact on the community and future generations.”

Visit the DOSAEM website to learn more about Upward Bound and other programs for Latino students. 

by MARISA MATA

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