Through a partnership between the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and Dominion Energy, the Building Hispanic Talent Initiative aims to increase the number of Hispanic undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing careers in clean energy and more specifically, career opportunities at Dominion Energy. For more information about HACU and its partnership with Dominion Energy, please click here.

 

 

Through this initiative, seven partner institutions were charged with implementing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) summer bridge programs aimed to help high school students build an identity as a college student and eventually become a STEM/energy professional. The institutions chosen to pilot this initiative are as follows. For more information on specific summer bridge programs, please click the institution's name.

Below are key findings and data from the first two years of the Building Hispanic Talent Initiative.

Profile of Summer Bridge Students
  • 770 students served from 133 different high schools
  • 55% of summer bridge students identified as Hispanic/Latino
  • 79% of summer bridge students were from minority groups underrepresented in higher education (i.e., Hispanic, Black/African American, and Indigenous)
  • 63% of summer bridge participants identified as prospective first-generation college students

 

 
 
Increasing Hispanic Enrollment Over Time

Photo 2: Summer bridge students from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke hold a STEM day for area elementary students as part of a service learning project.

The Building Hispanic Talent Initiative is helping partnering institutions raise Hispanic enrollment to become Hispanic Serving Institutions over time. In year one, every summer bridge program exceeded their respective institutions percentage of Hispanic enrollment. This puts institutions on track to raise Hispanic enrollment as a part of the talent pipeline.

 
 
Success in College Courses

High school summer bridge participants experienced high levels of success in collegiate coursework through tutoring support and exploration seminars embedded into summer bridge programs.

   

Access to STEM Careers

Photo 3: College of Science Dean, Dr. Daniel Horns, leads summer bridge program students on an interactive tour of the state-of-the-art laboratories available to student researchers at Utah Valley University.

Summer bridge programs were intentional in molding future STEM and energy professionals by supporting students to succeed in college level STEM courses for credit and offering exploration activities. These exploration activities included:

  • Seminars/Workshops
  • Field Trips
  • Speakers
  • Labs
  • Service-learning opportunities


BHTI Annual Reports

2022

2023


The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, founded in 1986, represents more than 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Latin America, Spain, and school districts throughout the U.S. HACU is the only national association representing existing and emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The Association’s headquarters are in San Antonio, Texas, with regional offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, California.

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