HISPA (Hispanics Inspiring Students' Performance and Achievement)

HISPA mobilizes Hispanic professionals to eradicate one key reason why Hispanic youth do not pursue education: a lack of role models. Unless students believe they can achieve, they are at an increased risk of dropping out; indeed, the Hispanic dropout rate is the highest of all major racial and ethnic groups. This has huge social and economic consequences as jobs demand more education, and Hispanics make up more of the workforce. Research shows that early intervention, especially during the middle school years, is key to reducing dropout. It also shows a strong correlation between having a role model and a student's pursuit of higher education. HISPA unites students with successful, relatable role models during this critical period to increase students' awareness of college and career.

HISPA has three main programs. The HISPA Role Model Program engages high-achieving professionals as volunteer Role Models who step into predominantly low-income, public middle schools in which Hispanics are the majority to share their stories and encourage student success. HISPA Corporate Visits bring students to our sponsor's corporate headquarters, allowing them to explore career options first-hand alongside HISPA Role Models, all in a professional business setting. HISPA Youth Conferences unite hundreds of students and HISPA Role Models for a full day on an elite university campus to introduce college life and hands-on exploration of STEM-focused studies and careers.

Our research-tools and metrics designed and analyzed with our partner ETS-shows that the HISPA Role Model Program has a positive impact on student attitudes toward and awareness of college and career. Indeed, after experiencing HISPA programming in 2020-21:
97% of students learned more about possible careers
96% of students found the role models' presentations interesting
95% of students were inspired to do better in school
94% of students were inspired to set going to college as a goal