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Summer 2003

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Nearly four years ago, two bright young Latino women from New York City entered the freshman class of Villanova University. Villanova profiled them and the diversity program which recruited them in its summer 2000 issue. They and the program proved to be a success.

On May 18, Christina Augusto and Vicky Nunéz received their bachelor’s degrees and celebrated with their cheering families. Christina is seeking a job in sports marketing, while Vicky plans to work for a year before entering law school.

For the most part, the Domestic Latino Recruitment and Support Initiative passed its first test. The “pioneers” completed their programs. More young Latino students, who never would have considered Villanova, are coming to school here.

However, Augusto and Nunéz paid a price beyond tuition, room and board. They did not fit into the largely white, suburban culture. As Americans of Puerto Rican and Dominican cultures they did not meld with the international students. The students from the island of Puerto Rico, whose culture is distinctly different from that of Latino-Americans, had little interaction with the two New Yorkers. The on-campus group that actually did reach out and make them welcome was the Black Cultural Society.

Both young women had visited the University briefly before applying. However, as most students will attest, a weekend visit, a Blue Key tour, and interviews with a few faculty members, students and administrators cannot possibly present a full picture of campus life. Unlike many other prospective students, Vicky and Christina knew only two Villanovans. One was Dr. Michael Burke, professor of history, who had begun the initiative in 1999 at the urging of the Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A., dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The other was a Villanova graduate, Kristi Kavanagh ’93.

Kavanagh had met Augusto and Nunez while volunteering at the Cornelia Connelly Center for Education/Holy Child Middle School, located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The center’s mission is to provide education and support for disadvantaged girls at risk. Kavanagh had kept in touch with the young students when they went on to Notre Dame High School; she also had remained friends with her former teacher, Mike Burke. She helped to forge the link from the Cornelia Connelly Center to Villanova, paving the way for Christina and Vicky to consider and eventually enroll at the University.

However, as the summer 2000 article detailed, the two had quite an adjustment. Christina, who is more outgoing, tried to break into the campus social life and took a leadership role in the Black Cultural Society. Vicky was more reserved. Both worked hard at their studies. Christina briefly tried business but eventually pursued a Liberal Arts degree and discovered an affinity for the Japanese language and its culture. Vicky majored in English with a minor in French.

A few weeks before commencement, each was asked the same question. Given what they know now about Villanova and its culture and social life, if the clock could be turned back, would they choose Villanova again? Was it worth being “different?”

For Christina, the answer was a definite yes. “I think I’ve left my mark in being a minority student . . . and not a quiet minority. I got a lot out of Villanova but Villanova got a lot out of me. I’ve let people know what it is like to live where I live and what it is to be a minority student on a predominantly white campus.”

Vicky, on the other hand, would not choose Villanova again. “It was the atmosphere,” she said. “In freshman year, we wanted to go home but we stuck with it because we wanted to make a difference. But the people here are the same as they were four years ago.”

The second wave

Happy or not, these two woman have marked the trail well for those who followed them. Among the younger Latinas is Roseangela Battista, a rising junior, also a graduate of Cornelia Connelly and Notre Dame. She and classmates Liliana Tellez and Lily Rodriguez from Philadelphia’s Cardinal Dougherty High School have decided that it is time to establish a new student cultural society for Villanova: the Latino American Students Organization. They hope to have it up and running during the coming school year. “We want to introduce LASO to the incoming freshmen, as well as anyone else already here who is Hispanic and feels as if he or she doesn’t fit in,” Battista explained. The organization also will welcome non Hispanics who are interested in discovering the culture.

Dr. Mark Doorley, associate professor of ethics, took over the domestic Latino initiative when Burke retired in 2000. He spends at least a quarter of his time developing and working personal contacts to find students who, first of all, have the academic qualifications to pursue a rigorous course of higher education, and then are willing to commit themselves and their families to a hefty investment of time and money.

“The hallmark of the Domestic Latino Recruitment and Support Initiative is personal relationships,” Doorley said recently. “We do not do cold calls to every high school that has a decent Latino population. We prefer personal contacts and networking. That’s very different from the function of our Office of Admissions, which visits many high schools.”

Once a student expresses interest, he or she visits the campus, where Doorley makes an effort to give as a full a picture of campus social life as he can, so the prospect doesn’t have unrealistic expectations. If the student applies, is accepted and decides to come, Doorley then shepherds him or her through the financial issues, living quarters, class scheduling, meeting people, and all the other issues that new students face. He remains a counselor and advisor to each student throughout the four years.

Doorley, who once lived in New York City, has a number of contacts in education there. This year he recruited several prospects from Cardinal Hayes High School for boys and Pius V High School for girls, both in the Bronx. His current Villanova students also have provided suggestions and contacts, so he’ll be busy in the Bronx next semester. In Philadelphia, he has developed relationships with Cardinal Dougherty High School and Little Flower High School, and also has attempted to make some contact with Philadelphia public schools.

Doorley is not alone in his efforts. More and more administrators and faculty members are brainstorming ways to promote diversity, not only among students but among faculty as well. Being a minority is not always an ethnic issue. Doorley pointed out. “There are many white students from poor families, who experience the same clique-ishness and exclusion that students of color encounter.”

Another initiative that is about to begin is the New Foundations Network, which will work with students of color, who are not necessarily poor, but who still feel that they don’t have a place. More information about this will appear in the fall issue of Villanova.

Many challenges remain, especially financial need.

This has been a story about two determined young women, their mentors and the leadership of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. However, the promotion of diversity is part of the mission of the entire University. Programs and initiatives will continue to be developed and evaluated.

Dr. Helen K. Lafferty, University vice president, has been deeply involved in making the mission of diversity a reality. She commends the efforts made so far by Doorley on behalf of domestic Latino students. However, she is ever mindful of the realities that can impede the University’s goals.

“Even though we are dealing with anecdotal information from only two graduates and a small, albeit growing number of students, this information already points us toward the importance of having strong communication networks for the students,” she said.

“We need to open the communication channels far sooner. They need to be introduced to Villanova, especially to the faculty who will interact with them from the beginning. Once they make the decision to attend Villanova, we then need to visit them. This is a very traumatic time for these students and their families. They are overwhelmed and have many questions– the questions that don’t get asked when they’re being given a one or two-day tour of the University.

“Finally, we need to build upon the commitment of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Mark does a wonderful job with this program and with the personal relationships he develops, the students can tell us what worked, what didn’t, how their expectations were realized or were not fulfilled. We really need to have their voices in our heads as we evaluate the effectiveness of our initiatives.”

Many of the students reached in this initiative live at or below the poverty line. Some come from families classified as “working poor.” Lafferty hopes that alumnae/alumni will reach out to provide support for them. “Villanova’s first students were the children of European immigrants. The education they received here helped them to become leaders in public life, education, business, etc. In reaffirming our commitment, broadening even more dramatically the mission of Villanova, students like Vicky and Christina will have the opportunity to add to the life of the University and our commitment to diversity, and ultimately to the world they will serve.”

For the Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A., Ph.D., ’69 M.A, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Domestic Latino Recruitment and Support Initiative is at the heart of the mission of the College and, by extension the University. He also recognizes the difficulties that come along with it. “The College began the Latino students’ project with its eyes wide open. We knew it would not be easy but we also knew that we had to try. We realized there would be small successes and major obstacles and frustrations. It is painful that there are issues of acceptance and of establishing a zone of comfort for minority students at Villanova that still have to be worked out.” (See sidebar for Father Ellis’ complete comments.)

In the meantime, Vicky Nunéz and Christina Augusto will continue to support the initiative and the University as alumnae, especially when they return to New York, the Cornelia Connelly Center, and their high school. They are the best witnesses to the Villanova experience and the more they meet with students, the better prepared those students will be to decide whether or not they will embark on the Villanova University experience.