¡Bienvenidos!: Committing to Diversity and Inclusion with Spanish-Language College Orientations for Parents and Family

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) strive to recruit and retain Hispanic students by developing programs and initiatives tailored specifically to this group. However, traditional institutional programming and student orientation processes often fail to consider the needs of diverse families, such as Hispanic family members. Findings of prior studies highlight the importance of incorporating families during the college planning process to increase the success rate of first-generation and low-income college students. In 2022, a Spanish-language college orientation session for parents and family was resumed after a few years of not materializing. The two Spanish orientation sessions included various college-related sessions, such as financial education and faculty and student panels specifically tailored to Hispanic families. The inclusive leadership of Latino/a/x faculty, staff, and students was imperative to this orientation's successful development and execution. Suggestions and valuable insight for practice from the perspective of three Hispanic faculty who were part of the planning committee and assisted during the event are presented to guide practitioners through developing orientations inclusive of Hispanic families' cultural and language needs. By establishing a Hispanic community that better guides families with no prior experience or exposure to the college experience, HSIs can provide stronger support to incoming students and families. The findings of this case study on Spanish-Language College Orientation provide suggestions for practice in the planning, executing, and evaluating orientations tailored to the families of incoming Hispanic students in higher education.