Ericka Gutierrez, the new Hispanic and Latino outreach-initiatives coordinator at the University of Central Arkansas, hasn’t had time to decorate her office, but she has her favorite book on the shelf.
She pulls out her Spanish copy of The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. It’s a story of someone following his heart, so it’s not surprising that the book appeals to her.
The 25-year-old Gutierrez said she found “a passion in my heart” for working with minorities, particularly the Hispanic and Latino students.
“This is like a dream come true. I’m just over the moon,” she said.
Gutierrez, whose parents are farmers in Greenbrier, is a first-generation college student. She said her family moved around, but she graduated from Quitman High School and attended the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton for 1 1/2 years while she figured out what she wanted to do.
She’d been involved in Future Business Leaders of America in high school.
“I’m a people person; I’m good at math,” she said, so she thought business would be a good path for her.
She regularly drove by the UCA College of Business building on Donaghey Avenue.
“I always thought it was so beautiful,” she said. Gutierrez transferred to UCA.
“It was life-changing,” she said. “Being a first-generation student, … it was so valuable the support I received here. The professors went above and beyond to make sure I did well.”
She recalled that one professor told her she needed to go to a UCA career fair — and he walked her to the event and introduced her to people.
“It really stuck with me, and I cherish that,” Gutierrez said.
In December 2015, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business management with an emphasis in supply chain and transportation. Gutierrez envisioned herself working in corporate America.
But when she graduated, a friend told her about an opening in the Office of Admissions for a counselor. Gutierrez not only was a first-generation student and a minority, but as a single mother, she was a nontraditional student. Her friend thought she was a good fit for the job, and she got it. Her daughter, Aryana, is now 4.
“Everything really aligned,” Gutierrez said. Although the job required travel, Gutierrez recruited students in Faulkner County, primarily, and some in Pulaski County and Northwest Arkansas.
She said one African-American student at Conway High School made a distinct impression. The girl was eating a burrito when Gutierrez saw her, and Gutierrez joked with her about sharing it.
“I really connected with her that day,” Gutierrez said.
She got a long email from the girl after the school event.
“She said I made a difference in her that day. She said I made her feel like she mattered,” Gutierrez said.
The woman, who was set on going out of state to college, thanked Gutierrez for opening her eyes to everything UCA had to offer. Now the woman is a student at UCA.
When Gutierrez was working in admissions, she got involved with the Amigo Cup, a soccer game sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Community, Student Services and others.
“We invited De Queen High School students to join us for Amigo Cup that year, and Amigo Cup and Bear Facts Day happened to be the same Saturday,” she said.
“I did a Spanish information session with the students and their parents,” she said. “I’m so fortunate that I speak English and Spanish.”
Gutierrez said she looked out at faces of students who reminded her of herself.
“I saw the need and how much they benefited from seeing someone like them,” she said. “I think there’s something empowering and motivational in seeing someone who looks like you get a college degree or be the first in their family to take that step.”
She said her supervisor, Angela Jackson, associate dean and director of the Office of Diversity and Community, and Angela Webster, associate professor and associate vice president for institutional diversity, collaborated with a Little Rock middle school to bring in minority students to show them what getting a college degree entailed.
Again, Gutierrez stepped in to help and talked with students, sharing her story and information about the university.
Then she was asked to be an adviser for Sisters in Action.
“It was a majority of Hispanic women, and the goal was to eventually have the first Latino sorority here on our campus, which now there is,” she said.
Gutierrez was involved with the first two phases of that sorority, so she met more of the staff in the Office of Diversity and Community.
It was a natural step for her to apply when the position was posted for the first full-time Hispanic and Latino outreach coordinator. Previously, it had been a part-time position. She started the job in October.
Jackson said that since 2014, UCA has experienced significant growth in students who classify themselves as Hispanic. According to Institutional Research, the undergraduate numbers grew from 4.2 percent to 5.1 percent from fall 2014 to fall 2016.
Gutierrez’s job is to develop programs and student support services that strengthen UCA’s outreach in the Hispanic community through internal and external partnerships to increase the number of Hispanic/Latino students who attend and graduate from UCA.
“It’s just very inclusive. The word Hispanic focuses on Spanish-speaking origins, and Latino refers to people of Latin America — anything south of Mexico, which includes central America and South America,” Gutierrez said.
As of fall 2017, she said, 501 Hispanic undergraduate students were enrolled at UCA. Of those, 129 were first-time undergraduate college students.
“The numbers keep rising,” she said. “It’s a very upward trend.”
Gutierrez said Jackson is “incredible,” and the office is supportive as a whole.
Jackson said Gutierrez hit the ground running.
“It’s extremely important for the Office of Diversity and Community to work as a smooth unit to effectively impact the students we serve,” Jackson said. “Because of Ericka’s enthusiasm, supportive nature, thoroughness and dedication, she fit right on in.
“When she started in October, our annual Amigo Fest was in her first week on the job, and a major international speaker was scheduled within Gutierrez’s first month. Although each event was worked on by others before her arrival, she picked up the ball and ran with it to the finish line to ensure that the events were successful. Her desire to make sure those two events and others she has worked on since her start mattered the most to me, because it meant that she is dedicated to the cause.”
Returning last week after the Christmas break, Gutierrez said she’s gotten calls every day from someone in the community who wants to collaborate with her. For example, an organizer of Conway ArtsFest called and talked about the proximity of Hispanic Heritage Month to the arts event and how they could work together.
“I love the idea,” Gutierrez said.
Jackson said students have embraced Gutierrez, and she has embraced them, “and it makes the dynamics in our office even better.”
Gutierrez said one of her goals is to “connect with other departments on campus to really develop relationships so we can address the unique needs of our minority students, to help them be successful and increase retention and graduation rates.”
She said she’d also like to work with the admissions office to bring resources to Hispanic and Latino students and parents.
Her parents were “very happy and proud” the day she graduated from UCA, she said. She is close to earning a master’s degree in business at UCA. And one of her two brothers, Abisai Quiroz of Greenbrier, is a freshman at UCA, which makes her proud. Gutierrez said she knows she set an example for him, and she wants to inspire others.
A quote from The Alchemist states, “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.”
Gutierrez has no doubt that UCA is where she’s supposed to be.
“Seeing how impactful the work we do here is, it doesn’t even feel like work,” she said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.