The spark: How a graduate student is reimagining CU ǸԹ orientation for Spanish‑speaking families
Last fall, Master’s in Higher Education students were asked a perennial question: “If you had a magic wand, what would you change about CU ǸԹ to better support students?”
Graduate student and CU ǸԹ alumna Nuvia Mendoza thought about the students she works with as the College Success Director at DSST Montview High School.
She thought about her experience as a first‑generation college student whose Spanish-speaking parents were supportive but lacking a higher education roadmap.
She thought about allColoradans who speak a language other than English—16% according to thewith 81% of multilingual learners speaking and reading in Spanish according to the.
Mendoza’s magic-wand wish was clear: CU ǸԹ needs an orientation for Spanish-speaking families.
“My parents were always there to motivate me,” she said. “They had high expectations for me, but they didn't understand the educational system. That limited their ability to participate and put the burden on me.
“[The question] made me think about what the educational system can be doing to take away that heavy lift for our first-generation, multilingual students. If we’re saying we serve all students equally, I believe sharing that burden is an institution’s responsibility.”
Mendoza’s wish wasn’t hypothetical for long.Her fall idea became her spring practicum project and summer reality with support from Higher Education faculty and peers.
Her instructor, Scarlett Pontón de Dutton, is on the orientation planning committee as Director of Campus Advising Initiatives and Strategy. She connected Mendoza with the committee and New Students and Family Programs that oversees orientation.
“I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but I thought, ‘I'm going to own this,’” Mendoza said. “It was a lot, but in a good way.”
Mendoza drew from research and her own experiences. She was born and raised in Denver, where her Mexican immigrant parents were clear college was “the goal.”
She describes her community in Far Northeast Denveras diverse and supportive, with college readiness a major focus at her high school, also in the DSST charter network where she now works. She was set on CU ǸԹ after a single field trip in ninth grade. When she applied, her advisor faxed her application to theMcNeill Academic Program, a collaborative learning community.
I would have loved to have this myself, and I feel humbled and privileged to be able to do this for others.”
Even so, Mendoza felt underprepared for the college transition as a self-described low‑income student of color.
“I was a good student, so I wasn’t intimidated by academics. The social and cultural shift was heavy,” she said.
Though she was initially interested in pre-law, Mendoza’s experiences and McNeill work‑study job introduced her to education.
“I started to ask, ‘Is this what I’m really passionate about?’” she said. “I enjoyed working with communities that grew up in similar circumstances as I did. That’s where I was making a difference, and I started gravitating towards spaces in academic access and opportunity.”
Today, as Mendoza helps high school students navigate postsecondary options, she’s adamant everyone’s journey is different. Yet, she sees similarities for her college-bound multilingual students, whose families crave resources.
Mendoza and classmates launched CU ǸԹ’s first centrally coordinated Spanish‑language orientation pilot programs in June and July withtranslated materials andsmall-group conversations. They recruited bilingual faculty and staff volunteers, and they were delighted when more 20 volunteers “showed up in force,” saidPontón de Dutton, with some staff noting they longed for something similar as students or parents themselves.
“It was amazing to meet family members and to talk through their concerns in a familiar language and see them make connections with each other and staff on campus that they can later reach out to as their student goes on the CU journey,” Pontón de Dutton said.
“This super supportive family-centered session stems from Nuvia’s brilliant suggestion and it could not have happened without her passion, dedication and expertise.”
Wearing a CU shirt reading “Vamos Búfalos,” Mendoza open the first session fully in Spanish and could see her own mother in the audience to support her, a full-circle moment.
“I would have loved to have this myself, and I feel humbled and privileged to be able to do this for others,” she said. “It’s been healing to know that it is going to make a difference, even for one family.
“I don’t want it to be just a cool practicum project and that’s it. I want this to become something offered every orientation season. We need to start somewhere.”
After meeting in the Master's in Higher Education student development course, instructor Scarlett Pontón de Dutton, left, and students, from left, Vivicca Pineda, Israel Sanchez, Nuvia Mendoza, and Nancy Mora Domínguez, got to work designing the pilot orientation session for families.
CU ǸԹ faculty and staff volunteers at the first Spanish-language orientation session.