Latino Community Center’s ‘SOY Pittsburgh’ Students Explore Possibilities at School of Education
Collaboration brings Latino youth to campus and provides professional development for community tutors
Over the summer, the School of Education welcomed nearly 50 students from the Latino Community Center’s SOY Pittsburgh afterschool program for a day of exploration and inspiration on campus.
The visit, which included a tour of the Cathedral of Learning and interactive sessions at the School of Education, aimed to introduce Latino youth to the possibilities of higher education.
The campus visit is part of a broader two-year collaboration between the School of Education and the Latino Community Center (LCC), supported by the school’s Seed Grant program for Professors of Practice through the Office of the Dean.
Associates Professors of Practice Loretta Fernandez and Heather Hendry Annegan from the World and Heritage Language Education program are leading the initiative, which provides professional development to LCC tutors and volunteers working with K-8 students.
“Our goal was to show them what a university looks like, what we do here, and to help them feel that they are always welcome at Pitt,” said Fernandez, reflecting on the visit.
Exposing Students to Possibilities
Fernandez described two particularly memorable moments: watching students become completely captivated during a guided tour of the Cathedral nationality rooms, where they listened intently, even to complex information about art history. The second moment came later, during a visit to the School of Education offices at Posvar Hall, when students drew pictures of their future careers and asked thoughtful questions. “Questions like whether you can come to college to become a mechanic or a teacher, and how college connects to their dreams, showed their genuine enthusiasm,” Fernandez said.
For many of these young students, the visit showcased possibility.
Aleira Gilbert, lead SOY Pittsburgh coordinator, noted the impact of exposing students to a university environment: “This will open the door for them to think about more professions, so they can learn more and see other possibilities.” She shared that students’ career aspirations ranged from becoming teachers and doctors to becoming firefighters or even “the administrator of a zapateria (shoe store).”
Grace Evans, SOY Pittsburgh coordinator, emphasized how important it is for students to see themselves reflected in the university community. “It’s really nice to be able to have these students in an environment where they see professors and students that speak Spanish, other first-generation students, and feel already welcomed,” Evans said. “They think, ‘oh, yeah, I could totally go here. I could absolutely go to college.’”
Mutually Beneficial Partnership
The School of Education-LCC partnership extends far beyond the campus visit.
Throughout the year, Fernandez and Hendry host professional development workshops that equip LCC staff and volunteers with research-informed strategies for tutoring students, many of whom are learning English as a second language.
Evans described how this training has transformed their approach. “It’s helped us be better professionals and teachers in the classroom so that the students can understand,” she said. “They feel more confident. And then we can start talking about the big picture stuff like college.”
The collaboration has proven meaningful for everyone involved. 
“Being invited to respond to the very specific need for professional development for tutors has deepened our awareness of the vital role we play in supporting immigrant communities,” Fernandez said. “As a school of education, these types of partnerships are essential to make our research more grounded.”
The initiative aims to foster a sense of belonging and possibility for Latino youth, a historically underserved population in higher education, and to help students envision college as not just a distant dream but an attainable goal.
When they returned from their Pitt Education visit, Evans and Gilbert asked their students about their college aspirations.
“Everyone raised their hand,” Evans said.
Teachers, engineers, doctors, and nurses were popular. When a student mentioned enjoying video games, Evans encouraged them to consider it as a career.
“Did you know you could go to college to design a video game? If you like movies, could you do animation? Or be an actor? That you could do film?” Evans recalls asking. “It opened up their worldview a little bit,” she said.
