Founded by Swedes, North Park’s educational mission has grown to serve Hispanic students.
By Ellen Almer BA ’94
In 1891, a group of Swedes founded North Park to help immigrants like themselves adapt to their new home. The goal was to teach them English and other skills to help them thrive in the United States while not forfeiting their beloved ethnic customs.
More than 130 years later, 黑料吃瓜 (NPU) continues to honor its Swedish roots while fulfilling its original mission for a new ethnic group: Hispanic students. In 2020, North Park gained recognition as one of about 500 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), a federal designation given to colleges and universities with a 25% population of Hispanic/Latinx students, with a significant portion coming from underresourced backgrounds.
Richard Kohng, North Park鈥檚 assistant vice president for Civic Engagement, frequently refers to David Nyvall, North Park鈥檚 first president, when discussing the HSI designation. He noted that when North Park welcomed its first Swedish American students, they attended college so their children would not face the same financial hardship and social barriers they endured.
Welcomed by what President Nyvall called 鈥渉armony in the midst of diversity,鈥� these students were greeted with 鈥渉ospitality…especially insisted upon.鈥�
As for Swedes and Latinos, Frank Gayt谩n, vice president for student engagement, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big tent, there鈥檚 room for all.鈥�
The HSI designation was created in the 1990s to give more support to the urban, underresourced institutions to which Hispanic students often applied. Those schools could, in turn, apply for grants to help support their students.
鈥淪ince receiving the HIS designation, I truly believe North Park has been trying to hold true to being a serving institution by creating a board to hear the voices of students.鈥�
鈥擫oribeth Godinez
鈥淐olleges were originally created for white, upper-class males, and not even women,鈥� said Evelyn Aponte-Aucutt, senior director of Academic Engagement and Student Success. 鈥淭he HSI designation is the government鈥檚 way of recognizing the need to address achievement gaps, equity gaps, and systems of inequality.鈥�
鈥淧art of the work is developing a new culture, shifting how we treat students of color,鈥� Aponte-Aucutt said. 鈥淭he HSI designation incentivizes us to access the funds to think more creatively and see where our gaps are.鈥�
Rather than guarantee federal funds, however, the HSI designation increases North Park鈥檚 eligibility for specific grants that benefit Hispanic students. And despite COVID-19 snarling the application process, North Park has secured several vital grants.
The first, a $413K grant from the National Science Foundation received in 2022, supports minority student success in STEM majors.
Another grant, for $166K, was awarded by NASA in 2023 to install atmospheric weather sensors on the roof of the Johnson Center for Science and Community Life. North Park is one of only 10 schools to receive the grant, which provides students with access to the NASA-collected data to perform their own experiments.
NPU also secured an additional $155K grant from the state of Illinois for COVID-19 relief. North Park鈥檚 next goal is to apply for and receive a $3 million grant under Title V, the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions Program, to expand educational opportunities for Hispanic and low-income students pursuing post-secondary degrees.
In addition to the opportunities created by the grants, Aponte-Aucutt formed an HSI Student Advisory Board to capture student input about issues paramount to them. She also inaugurated a First-Generation Celebration Day to honor students, alumni, staff, and faculty who were the first in their families to attend college.
Loribeth Godinez, a nursing student and Chicago native, chose North Park so she could have a true college experience while staying close to her Mexican and Puerto Rican family in the Belmont-Cragin area. She also received generous financial aid in the form of the Lighthouse Scholarship given to qualifying first-generation college students.
HSI Student Advisory Board (from left to right): Loribeth Godinez, Aaron Gonzalez, and Andrew Hernandez鈥淭o be a true 鈥榮erving鈥� institution, North Park must know the needs and desires of the students,鈥� said Godinez, a member of the HSI Student Advisory Board. 鈥淪ince receiving the HIS designation, I truly believe North Park has been trying to hold true to being a serving institution by creating a board to hear the voices of students.鈥�
鈥淲hen you support many underrepresented students, all students at the institution will benefit.鈥�
鈥擡velyn Aponte-Aucutt
More work remains to be done, she said, such as helping connect students to scholarships, fellowships, and internships. But she feels North Park will 鈥渃ontinue to not only hold safe spaces for students to participate in conversations and decisions that affect them but continue to celebrate their accomplishments.鈥�
Seminary Teaching Fellow Armida Belmonte Stephens was invited to participate in an HSI community panel last year on North Park鈥檚 campus, in which students, faculty, and staff discussed issues affecting HSI students and institutions.
鈥淚 was encouraged to meet these students and am glad we鈥檙e seeing so many more Latino students going to college鈥攁nd we鈥檙e seeing more retention,鈥� said Belmonte Stephens, a first-generation college graduate whose parents immigrated from Mexico. 鈥淎t the same time, so much of what they told me was familiar. The challenges they face are so similar to my own.鈥�
It spurred in her a desire to continue building community among North Park鈥檚 growing Hispanic student population.
By strengthening one community, we strengthen the entire school, Gayt谩n and Aponte-Aucutt agreed.
Supporting our Hispanic students is directly supporting North Park鈥檚 heritage鈥攂eing an institution for immigrants and children of immigrants that encourages all to uphold and celebrate their culture, whether it be Swedish or Hispanic.
鈥淭he work requires intentionality, institutional buy-in, and a commitment to learning and understanding,鈥� Aponte-Aucutt said. 鈥淲hen you support many underrepresented students, all students at the institution will benefit.鈥�