By Jeff Mellott, Daily News-Record

Webster Contreras might have been attending college in San Antonio now, but the EMU freshman decided to stay close to his home in Harrisonburg.

Maria Monroy, also a freshman, could have left town to go to college. But she decided to remain in the city, where her family lives.

They decided to attend EMU, in part, because of a university initiative to attract Hispanics from the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County area. The 10 students in the program contributed to a 5.3 percent rise in overall enrollment from one year ago.

Recruitment Initiative

Last spring, EMU announced a program designed to bring local Hispanics to the campus by making the $24,000 annual tuition more affordable.

The initiative discounted tuition on a sliding scale, based on the students� expected family contribution as determined by the application for federal student aid. The discount combined with the possibility of federal assistance was expected to make EMU�s tuition competitive with state-supported schools.

Those financial considerations played a role in the decision by Monroy, 18, and Contreras, 18, to come to EMU.

Friendly Surroundings

Financial considerations were only part of the decision-making process for the freshmen.

Monroy, who arrived from Guatemala four years ago, was also impressed by EMU�s hospitality. “Everybody greeted me with a smile on their faces, which at other colleges I didn�t get,” she said.

Monroy is the first in her family to go to college and is aware of that she could be a role model for her younger brothers, Heiber, 15; and Erick, 12.

She likes being so close to her family. “I can go home, and I can come back,” she said.

Community Service

Contreras was almost lured away to Texas to go to college at San Antonio. He has relatives there, and he likes the weather.

Contreras, who is studying nursing, said EMU�s financial incentive played a role in his decision to stay in Harrisonburg. While still a student, Contreras is called often called upon by others Spanish-speaking people in the community to go with them to the doctor and dentist as a translator.

“I see here in our Spanish community we need help in the medical field,” he said.

Encouraging News

Contreras and Monroy are two of the six Hispanics from the city. Two more Hispanics who enrolled at EMU live in Rockingham County, and one each from Augusta County and Albemarle County increased the total to 10. No Hispanics from the local area attended EMU one year ago. The university considers the local area to be Harrisonburg and Rockingham County and the counties that adjoin Rockingham.

Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing Shirley Yoder is very encouraged by the enrollment of the local Hispanics.

“We had Spanish-speaking persons from other states and other parts of the state,” she said. When EMU realized that no local Hispanics attended EMU, Yoder said the university knew something was wrong, especially with the growth of that population in the area.

“It�s one thing to be involved in service activities overseas. It�s another,” she said, “to be a service in your own community.”

Enrollment Bump

The group of Hispanic students from the area helped EMU increase its overall enrollment from one year ago, which saw a record 406 graduate.

The school has 1,513 students compared to 1,436 students, both full-time and part-time, Yoder said. Of those, 933 are undergraduates.

The campus has 880 full-time undergrads compared to 882 last year.

The overall enrollment includes an increase of first year students, 208 compared to 196 one year ago. This year�s number is a step back toward the 240 first-year students EMU enrolled two years ago.

The 10 local Hispanic students also helped EMU increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the campus, Yoder said. U.S. minorities make up 21 percent of the freshman class, which Yoder said is a doubling of the previous class.

Contreras said he could recommend EMU to his friends.

“They help you learn,” he said of EMU, “and you also learn spiritually.

EMU has launched a program initiative as part of its mission to increase student diversity on campus while serving the local community.

At an information luncheon held Apr. 30 on campus, EMU staff introduced a strategic plan to recruit and retain more Latino students from Rockingham, Augusta, Page and Shenandoah counties and the cities within those boundaries.

Around 30 representatives from profit and non-profit programs and agencies that serve the Latino community attended the luncheon meeting.

“EMU has developed a strategic plan that we believe the Latino community will find appealing and that makes EMU’s tuition more affordable in the Latin cultural context,” said Melody M. Pannell, director of multicultural programs and moderator of the information meeting.

Michelle R. Hensley, director of financial assistance, noted that tuition will be discounted on a sliding scale based on the students’ expected family contribution as determined by the application for federal student aid.

“The discount that EMU provides, combined with the possibility of federal assistance, will make EMU’s tuition quite competitive with state-supported schools,” Hensley said. “EMU will also actively seek support from local and national organizations who might provide funds for this program. Any scholarships or grants provided by these programs would be applied to the EMU contribution so that more students can benefit,” she added.

“EMU will strive to integrate the students into the total campus life,” Pannell said, noting that her multicultural services office will coordinate a special orientation with this aim.

Other program efforts Pannell cited include a Latino Heritage Month, interaction with the local community and other activities that will help the Latino students become contributing members of the EMU community. Academic help will be provided – as it is for all students – through the Academic Support Center, she pointed out.

“For those students who are academically prepared for university work but for whom language is a barrier, there’s the possibility of participating in the Intensive English Program at EMU and then bridging to the full undergraduate program,” she said.

“EMU already has the advantage of a cross-cultural program requirement for all students,” said Laurie W. Miller, director of undergraduate admissions. “This initiative provides an additional wonderful opportunity right at our doorstep to broaden relationships and increase student diversity.”

Naomi R. Gorton, who speaks Spanish, is the admissions counselor who will work with the prospective students. She introduced herself to the group and said she “looks forward to working with local Latino students who inquire about EMU.”

Silvia Romero, who works with the Migrant Education Program in Harrisonburg, said she “wanted badly to enroll at EMU” in 1997 but felt she didn’t have the financial resources and so welcomes the Latino initiative as one way of making the university accessible to more students.