The Hispanic Scholarship Fund at Texas Tech is hosting a retreat on Saturday for students going into college who have few resources and little or no knowledge of what the process is like.
This retreat is for high school students and their parents to have all their questions and concerns about attending college answered.
Mara Salcido, HSF president, said this retreat will tell those in attendance about admissions to Tech, financial aid and scholarships.
Salcido said although the retreat is hosted by a Hispanic organization, it is not only for them.
“We don’t just specify for Hispanics,” she said. “It’s for everybody.”
She also said the retreat is open to community college students who are planning on transferring to a four-year university.
Ricky Sherfield, advisor for HSF, said no one who wants to attend will be turned away.
The retreat is free and will begin at 9:30 Saturday morning with coffee and donuts, Salcido said.
She said after coffee and donuts, those in attendance will do team building to get to know each other, and then the students and parents will break off into sessions where they can ask questions. She also said lunch will be provided.
Sherfield said the organization is bringing other departments such as financial aid and admissions in so any questions the students or their parents have will be answered by someone knowledgeable.
He said there will also be a student panel to answer questions about college, and a student work fair to showcase what is available on Tech’s campus.
Sherfield also said the event is over at 2:30 p.m., but tours of the Tech campus will be provided for those interested.
The advisor for HSF said even though the event is put on by Tech, it is not necessarily recruitment for the university.
“We are promoting college,” Sherfield said. “We are not necessarily promoting that they have to come to Texas Tech.”
Both Sherfield and Salcido said they are unsure about how many people will attend the retreat, but Sherfield said the number does not matter.
“Whatever the number is we want to focus on whoever it is that shows up, that we can provide them with the best information that we can,” he said, “and that they leave better prepared than they were.”
Salcido said current Tech students are welcome to volunteer to help with the retreat and the time spent helping would count for community service hours.
If you are a Tech student wishing to volunteer, you may contact the cross-cultural center by email at Crosscultural@ttu.edu or by phone at 806-742-8681.
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