April 22, 2026 | Abbi Duhart | News Editor
Starting April 13, Western hosted its fifth annual HSI Summit week. As a Hispanic Serving Institution, Western’s undergraduate student population consists of 27% identifying as Hispanic or Latino, and the goal of the summit is to bring together the university and community to discuss what it means to be an HSI. Specifically, this year’s summit’s purpose was to highlight how data informs, aligns and advances commitment to serving the student population.
Marla Franco, who has a doctorate in higher education leadership, was chosen as the keynote speaker for this year’s summit. She has worked at public universities in California and Arizona for 25 years, and her work consists of creating greater success in pursuing degrees for underrepresented and minority communities. The assistant director of the HSI Initiatives, Cristian Mendez Garcia, said, “We are pleased to have Dra. Franco share her expertise with our broader community. This work is important and having an open dialogue on how data informed decisions can help all of our students is crucial in higher education.”
On Monday, Claudia Ortiz Gajardo and Vanessa Petroj led an event entitled Code Switching in Hamersly Library, where they discussed the connection of language, culture and identity within Hispanic and multilingual communities. In regard to this event, Ortiz Gajardo said, “It was exciting to see the enthusiasm from the audience, which fostered a deeper connection among the campus community through reflection on the role of code-switching within our diverse identities.”
Tabling in the Werner University Center, where students could grab limited-edition HSI shirts, occurred Tuesday. Late January, students voted on which of three T-shirt design options, all designed by students, they liked the best. The winning design was chosen to represent Western’s HSI status.
On Wednesday, students could attend Loteria in the WUC, where they could win prizes such as T-shirts, candy and keychains.
Thursday, Dr. Ricardo Pelegrin Taboada partnered with the Writing and Research Center on campus to present “Ethnic Studies in the Library: Preserve Your Family Story,” an event allowing students to celebrate their heritage and identity through storytelling. Students who attended wrote three words that best described their identity and put them on a community board to be showcased.
Finally, the highlight of the week occurred Friday, during which Franco spoke about how HSIs can better serve their students, along with a student panel who talked about their personal experiences. Students, faculty and representatives from other schools all attended this event. Students on the panel expressed their gratitude for all who came to support them and the importance this event provided for being heard as students of color. Sophomore Alexia Sifuentes, one of the student speakers, explained her experience, talking a lot about how “supportive it was to come to Western, specifically for me growing up in a predominantly white city. I think I never really felt like I could fully express myself and my culture, and coming over here, it was a very big culture shock to see so many people like me at school. Just how many resources there are for us.” She added, “Being first generation, it’s really hard to navigate college and not having someone to ask. It’s just really great having advisers here who understand that struggle and advocate for you as well.”
When asked about what she perceived the purpose of the event being, Sifuentes said, “The purpose of the event is just to really spread awareness for what we have as far as resources and support, especially with the political climate we are in and how much hatred there is towards people of color and just the talk of getting rid of a lot of support services that really are catered to people of color. That insecurity really is prevalent. This event just helped emphasize the need we have and all the programs here like TRIO and SEP are here for a reason and they truly support a lot of students.”
Additionally, Ortiz Gajardo explained, “Reflecting on these experiences, it is important to value the Summit as a space that ensures the Hispanic/Latine community at WOU is seen, valued, and supported. By recognizing challenges and celebrating the contributions of our students and staff, we foster a sense of belonging and representation in meaningful, lasting ways.”
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
