26-27 Spanish Language Access and Engagement Intern

Purpose

We have seen a steady increase in Spanish-speaking families both in our surrounding community (South Bend, The Region, Lafayette, Indy) and in key recruitment regions such as Illinois (Chicago), Michigan (Detroit), and Ohio (Columbus, Cleveland, and Toledo). Many of these families include students who are first-generation college-bound, making culturally responsive and bilingual communication especially important.

To better serve this growing population, I propose the creation of a Spanish-Speaking Admissions Internship- a role designed to strengthen outreach, enhance communication, and create a more welcoming experience for Spanish-speaking students and families when engaging with Saint Mary’s. This position will allow a current bilingual student to share their own voice and story, helping prospective families see themselves represented in the Saint Mary’s community.

This initiative directly supports our mission to advance access, equity, and inclusion, while also offering a meaningful professional development opportunity for a bilingual student leader to contribute to institutional progress.

Key learning experiences:

This internship is structured to give broad exposure across the admissions operation while emphasizing student development and leadership.

Bilingual Communication & Outreach

• Draft bilingual marketing and recruitment materials
• Create social media content, emails, and print material in Spanish
• Coordinate outreach to Spanish-speaking high schools and community organizations

Event & Presentation Leadership

• Assist in planning campus events for Spanish-speaking visitors
• Act as translator at open houses and visit days
• Deliver the official Saint Mary’s Admission Presentation in Spanish, with guidance and rehearsal support
• Host Spanish-language virtual sessions or workshops for prospective families

Data, Research & Strategy

• Track and analyze enrollment funnel metrics for Spanish-speaking audiences
• Conduct research on competitor institutions’ multilingual strategies
• Make data-informed recommendations for outreach or communication improvements

Student Ambassador & Community Engagement

• Train or work with bilingual student ambassadors
• Support admitted Spanish-speaking students and families during orientation and yield events
• Collect and share stories of current Saint Mary’s students from Spanish-speaking backgrounds

Professional Development

• Participate in weekly 1:1 mentorship meetings with an admissions team leader
• Potentially (depending on grade level) complete a final capstone project (such as building a community outreach plan, design a welcome packet for Spanish speaking families, event plan for Spanish-speaking families etc)
• Create a portfolio of communication samples and presentation clips

Supervision: Jennifer Chavez

Timeline: Academic year 2026–2027

Who can apply? (e.g., year level, major, bilingual proficiency requirements)

• Sophomores, Juniors, or Seniors
• Communications/ Marketing/ Foreign Language- Spanish/ Education/ Sociology/ Business