The Progresando program of the Office of HSI Affairs has ended, but the impact and legacy continue to highlight the necessity for programs like this in our community. 

Progresando served as a core component of Bank of America’s investment in promoting the social and economic mobility of Hispanic/Latinx adults specifically. The Progresando initiative provided a vast array of support in many areas that supported student success and employer-aligned outcomes. The collective goal was to advance the number and impact of Hispanic/Latinx learners who seek to serve their communities in the critical arena of health care. All students, regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin, who were interested in the Prgresando program were welcomed.

SDSU served as one of the twelve HSIs partnering with Bank of America in the Progresando initiative. 

At SDSU, this fully-sponsored initiative had three major components:

1. A direct investment from Bank of America and matched by the San Diego Foundation, supported a pilot student support program named SDSU Progresando en Salud (see below), that served the Progresando mission. Examples of program components included wrap-around support coordinated by a program coordinator/retention specialist; Peer Mentors who supported the success of participants; funds which supported students needs related to pathway success; community service opportunities, and other programming.
2. A new online “virtual tour” of SDSU for recruitment during the graduate program application phase (see below). This included general components, and specific information about health career related programs. It had a particular focus on Hispanic/Latinx students, cultural resources, and SDSU’s support of diverse student populations.  
3. A focused adult learner/non-traditional/returning student recruitment email campaign designed to increase the proportion of Hispanic/Latinx learners who enrolled in SDSU’s health care aligned graduate programs.

The second and third components were supported by EAB, a large company supporting higher education. We are thankful how these opportunities were able to support our region’s Hispanic/Latinx students, and their entry into the health care industry.

 

PROGRESANDO EN SALUD

Bank of America, in collaboration with the San Diego Foundation, provided a two-year grant totaling $500,000 that supported at least 200 students preparing for careers in health care. The program was housed in the Office of HSI Affairs and was led by program coordinator and retention specialist Wendy Mejia. 

The goals of the SDSU Progresando en Salud Program were to: provide paid opportunities for participants to engage in crucial extracurricular career experiences, programming opportunities that facilitate pathways for health career success and allow students to connect with the Hispanic/Latinx community, and ensure deliberate and ample utilization of retention and student success resources. The collective goal was to advance the number and impact of students at HSIs who seek to serve their communities in the critical arena of health care. An advisory committee that includes representatives from across SDSU and the County of San Diego was established to assist in implementing the initiative. 

For more information, visit https://linktr.ee/hsipes.