The Indiana Latino Institute‘s (ILI) Pathways to Careers (P2C) program provides an innovative approach to supporting Latinx students while they are in college. Indiana University Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College, and Marian University partner with ILI to provide a cohort experience, paid internships, mentorship, and additional support to increase retention and persistence rates throughout their college experience.
P2C, funded by the Eli Lilly Foundation, provides support for five academic years. Currently, the program is in its fourth year. The program aims to reduce poverty among Latinx communities in Central Indiana, particularly in Marion County, through education. Its goal is to help Latinx college students complete their studies at partner universities and to enhance the universities’ capacity to better serve Latinx students, while strengthening their career pathways and placement in good jobs.
Every academic year, each academic institution, in partnership with ILI, selects five incoming freshmen for a total of twenty students. These students are then supported throughout their journey on each campus. All incoming university students who self-identify as Latino or Hispanic are encouraged to be part of the program and to apply. Other Latino students are nominated from sources, such as their high school.
“They are leaders because they say, ‘I’m interested, and I’m going to take on this challenge,'” said Cindy Gil, director of Latino affairs at the IU Indianapolis Office of Community Engagement.
IU Indianapolis campus cohort
The P2C program provides students with hands-on experience and the opportunity to be mentored by their supervisors.
Internship placements
At IU Indianapolis, during the first two years, students are matched with an internship placement. They receive a scholarship and are compensated for their internship work, which is funded by the grant. The internships are located within various areas and units on campus, based on the students’ interests. Each year, sites are chosen based on their capacity to accommodate students in this program. As a result, there is a new set of internship placements each year. “The internship supervisors are challenged to think about how their offices or units can support the Latinx student population,” said Gil.
IU Indianapolis students have been placed in areas such as the Admissions Office, the Multicultural Center, the Financial Aid Office, Paws Pantry, Paws Closet, and within recruitment teams at specific schools.
Resources at the Multicultural Center
At the IU Indianapolis campus, every P2C student takes part in program activities at the IU Indianapolis Multicultural Center.
IU alumna Cecilia Gomez works with the P2C students as the Latinx student service specialist at the Multicultural Center. Gil said, “Cecilia Gomez earned her master’s degree on our campus and now she’s working professionally with us at the Multicultural Center. I’m really excited that she’s with us!”
Gomez works with the students daily, engaging in activities that provide support, such as time management and resume preparation. She also organizes workshops with Eli Lilly, aiming to help students secure internships at Lilly by the end of the year. Additionally, she advises the Latino Student Association, which is IU Indianapolis’s largest Latino serving student group on our campus, according to Gil.
College and career coaching at ILI
All P2C students have the chance to collaborate with ILI monthly. ILI provides a college and career coach for students to meet with regularly. They also bring in speakers to share information about community events, offer professional development activities, and provide a space for students to discuss campus life, personal matters, and classroom experiences. “Just again, another network of support for our students,” said Gil.
“There’s a lot that they’ll be involved in, and it’s going to require our students to balance their time and energy,” said Gil. “Many students in this program will participate in an internship, have a part-time job, and be full-time students. So, they’re very dedicated, involved, engaged, and are leaders in themselves,” Gil adds.
ILI also creates opportunities for students to come together for events in the community. For example, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra ensemble “Latin Fire” brought in a conductor from Latin America. ILI provided the opportunity for all cohorts to attend, meet and talk to the conductor before the concert, and then stay for the concert.
Strength of this partnership
A unique strength of P2C is that partner campuses collaborate to achieve a common goal of helping Latinx students graduate from college with internship experience. “The fact that three universities (IU Indianapolis, Ivy Tech, and Marian) are working to help increase student graduation across our campuses is unique,” said Gil. Although each respective university is attempting to attract the same students, they collaborate through P2C to share what has worked for the university and its students.
Another strength is that through the grant, P2C supports the campus’ effort to recruit and retain Latinx students in general. Thanks to effective recruitment and retention strategies at IU Indianapolis, the percent of Latino/Hispanic students on campus has increased to 11.6% of the total student population in 2023. P2C is committed to supporting Latinx students as they work towards graduation and future opportunities.
“An added strength to our retention efforts is that students work within their cohort,” added Gil. “It’s an additional resource and support as they work towards completing their educational goals.”
Program and student success
“One thing we can say is that our P2C students have remained at the university,” said Gil. While personal or family reasons may lead some students to withdraw, the program has successfully retained at least four out of five students each year, according to Gil.
Several P2C students within the IU Indianapolis cohort have taken on leadership roles in student groups on campus. Clarissa Vazquez Hernandez, student from P2C’s first IU Indianapolis Cohort serves as the Latino Student Association President.
“The P2C program was one of the most eye opening and greatest accomplishments I’ve ever done,” said Hernandez. “It opened my door to many connections and inspired me to no longer be afraid to speak up and continue forward on my journey to become a doctor. This program gave me the courage to strive and continue sharing my stories to others who look just like me,” she added.
Other IU Indianapolis P2C students have moved into such leadership roles as the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and Alliance for Immigrant Justice.
IU Indianapolis Cohort Partnerships
The engagement between the IU Indianapolis cohort and internal campus units has been critical to P2C’s success.
The IU Indianapolis Career and Advising Services office has effectively kept P2C students informed about available career and internship opportunities, as well as activities sponsored by the Lilly Foundation. “Brian Benedict, assistant director for internships in the IU Indianapolis Campus Career and Advising Services office, has been incredibly helpful in Career Services,” said Gil. “He has also done an excellent job maintaining our partnership with Eli Lilly,” she adds.
The grant also supports work by Alyssa Luna, an English and Spanish speaking admissions counselor at the IU Indianapolis Office of Undergraduate Admissions, and her team to collaborate with partners to organize and execute recruitment and student events as well as staff and student development programs.
The Indiana Latino Institute (ILI) is a 501(c)3 statewide non-profit organization committed to serving Latino communities across Indiana. Applications for the 2025-2026 Pathways to Careers cohort will be available in spring 2025.To learn more about the Pathways to Careers (P2C) program, visit the website.