CVCC welcomes LatinxEd to its campus for #SomosNC Listening Tour

Catawba Valley Community College recently welcomed LatinxEd to its campus this past week for discussions on equity and inclusion for Latinx students.

LatinxEd’s visit to Catawba Valley Community College is part of its statewide #SomosNC Listening Tour, which has been taking place the past six months.

Catawba County is part of the Northwest Region of the tour, which also includes Burke, McDowell, Caldwell, Alexander, Wilkes, Alleghany, Watauga and Ashe counties.

“The LatinxEd #SomosNC Listening Tour is allowing us to connect with great institutions making progress when it comes to equity and inclusion in NC,” said Elaine Townsend Utin, cofounder and executive director of LatinxEd.“We had a full house of

Catawba Valley Community College faculty, staff and students ready and willing to engage in an important conversation in supporting the Latinx community in this region.”

Included in the visit was a session where LatinxEd’s staff and Latinx students were able to get to know members of the Office of the President, Office of Student Engagement and Diversity, Office of K-64 and Talent Development and Office of Teaching and Learning.

LatinxEd then held a 45-minute session to better inform everyone in attendance, which included CVCC administration, faculty and staff members, about their organization.

Following that information session, everyone in attendance broke into three groups where they discussed Latinx college access, ways to better support

Latinx students and programs and resources that should be created to further assist Latinx students.

The final session involved discussions between LatinxEd’s staff and CVCC students, faculty and staff.

“CVCC is committed to ensuring every individual on this campus feels valued and has a sense of belonging,” said Dr. Felicia Simmons, Vice President for Diversity and Engagement at CVCC. “We are dedicated and putting actions to words for our students, faculty and staff, along with our community. The collaboration and partnership with LatinxEd allows the institution to continue to provide additional support, programs and resources for our Latinx population to ensure a successful and positive experience at CVCC.”

Through the discussions and presentations, Utin saw one thing from Catawba Valley Community College and its approach to Latinx Ed students.

“It’s clear that CVCC gets it — advancing Latinx student success is an important part of the future of this campus and community,” she said.

To learn more about LatinxEd, please visit https://latinxed.org/.

For more information about the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Catawba Valley Community College, please visit https://bit. ly/3Op3Os0.