开门:勒努瓦-雷恩和中拉丁

就在山科里的勒努瓦-雷恩校区那边, Centro Latino quietly goes about supporting the Latin American community across Catawba and the surrounding counties with resources to help clients navigate everything from immigration law to their children’s homework to meal preparation.

Since its inception in 1998 as a Bible study for local Latino children at First Presbyterian Church in Hickory, Centro Latino has grown and expanded with ongoing backing from the Lenoir-Rhyne students, 教职员工.

“We’ve been sending students to tutor in the after-school programs at Centro Latino for as long as I can remember — at least 22 years,梅洛迪·兰尼说, financial aid operations and federal work-study coordinator at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Some tutors are students who want to get involved with the Hickory community, but in recent years students who participated in the program when they were children want to give back now that they’re in college themselves.

“Our tutoring program is called Abriendo Puertas, which means ‘opening doors’ in English. When the students in the program finish school, they go to college and beyond. Many of them go to LR, then they come back and serve the community here. 循环往复，”索拉雅·普雷斯说.A., a Spanish professor at LR and social media and outreach specialist for Centro Latino.

That spirit of giving back is woven into the leadership team at Centro Latino, 由Gianella罗梅罗指导, 自2022年初起担任Centro Latino的执行董事. She enrolled in Abriendo Puertas shortly after her family immigrated from Mexico.

“My parents were searching for a better place to raise their children. 他们爱上了卡托巴县，”罗梅罗说. “事实上, one of the first places we lived was Hickory House apartment complex which belongs to LR now. 我在那里长大，这让我觉得我的根是在劳氏. Even if we wander off into the world for a while, that connection is there.”

想要探索山核桃以外的世界, Romero completed her undergraduate degree at Winston-Salem State University, 但她回到了Hickory and LR读研究生. 在某种程度上, she credits her long-term success to the impression her tutor in Abriendo Puertas — a Lenoir-Rhyne student — left on her decades earlier.

罗梅罗说:“这实际上是打开了一扇门. “辅导老师帮助学生做功课和学习英语, but they’re also showing you what your options are outside these four walls. 我知道这帮我找到了人生道路.”

现任项目导师克洛伊·康纳，23岁, an exercise science major planning a career in occupational therapy echoed Romero. 而她喜欢看到她的学生的学业进步, she volunteers with the program four afternoons a week for more personal reasons.

当我还是个孩子的时候, 我在学校很挣扎, so I can offer them the tools I used to succeed — tools others might not have,”她说。. “即使你很挣扎，你也能上大学. Even if you aren’t rich you can go to college — most of my costs are covered by grants and scholarships. Whatever these kids want to become, I want them to see there is a way to make it happen.”

除了罗梅罗, another Abriendo Puertas alumna is making her dreams happen and giving back to Centro Latino. Andrea Quijas Arteaga ’25 works as the center’s client services advocate while completing a double major in entrepreneurship and marketing at LR, 但如果没有阿布列安多·普尔塔斯，这一切都不会发生.

“我没有看到继续学习的意义,” Quijas Arteaga said when remembering her early struggles with the language barrier and 教育al system after violence in her hometown in Mexico drove her to immigrate with her mother to the U.S. After much moving around, the two of them settled in Catawba County.

“当我在高中二年级的时候, 我妈带我去了拉丁中心, and they had a guest from the College Foundation of North Carolina talking about their own journey to show us how we could pursue higher 教育,”她说。. “从那以后，我在高中开始变得更加活跃.”

演讲结束后不久, Quijas Arteaga toured Lenoir-Rhyne and developed a relationship with former assistant director of admission Sheyla Diaz. She knew she wanted to go to LR, but she felt uncertain if it could be done.

“我回到拉丁中心寻求资源. I found resources at Lenoir-Rhyne — information to help secure my immigration status and get financial aid. 这两个组织都帮助我度过了这个过程.”

尽管拉丁中心帮助Quijas Arteaga进入了LR, 她从事客户服务工作几乎是偶然的. “大一的时候，我需要一份工作. 我去了学校的职业发展中心, 润色我的简历，尽我所能申请. 当我看到拉丁中心开业的时候，我就下定决心了. They made a difference for me, and I want to make a difference for my community.”

在客户服务方面, Quijas Arteaga与社区组织合作, businesses and other resources to connect clients with the services they need for employment, 教育, 医疗保健, 法律代理和其他需要.

“它们的范围从非常简单的案例到非常复杂的案例. Our goal is always to give the client at least some sort of information to help them move toward solutions,”她说。. “Even something really easy that may take me a few minutes can mean the whole world to them.

Empathy is the guiding principle around the work Centro Latino does for the community. All the staff and volunteers who have a connection to LR credit their experience on campus with opening a sense of service and respect for others that they carry beyond campus.

Romero said, “Our clients come from so many places, and everyone’s story is just so unique. I think highlighting the importance of everyone’s unique story is something LR does really well. 当你的故事有价值的时候, you feel like you belong — that builds a strong community wherever you are.”