New partnership aims to support parents and guardians of first-generation engineering students

 

POSTED ON Dec 10, 2021

 

The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) announced recently that the association has partnered with Raytheon Technologies, an aerospace and defense company, to assist parents of first-generation engineering students. According to SHPE, the Equipando Padres (Equipping Parents) program will focus on supporting guardians to better help their children earn engineering degrees.

“In Hispanic cultures, familia is the foundation for everything, and padres (parents) are our children’s core support system, to an even greater extent than in other cultures. This program creates structures, processes, and resources that enable Hispanic parents to be an asset for their child,” SHPE’s Board Chair and Interim CEO Miguel Alemañy said in a statement. “We are so grateful that Raytheon Technologies understands this key component is missing for many of our students, and that together, we can help more Hispanics engineers succeed.”

SHPE and Raytheon Technologies have brought together an advisory board made up of representatives of like-minded organizations who are uniquely positioned to provide feedback on program content, implementation, and evolution, as well as, to amplify the message and potentially adapt the program to other communities. Raytheon Technologies has committed financial and personnel resources to this effort.

“We see incredible value in an approach like this. This program has the potential to meaningfully grow the number of Hispanic students that will be ready to pursue engineering degrees, which unlocks a critical resource for the future of engineering in this country,” said Juan M. de Bedout, Raytheon Technologies’ vice president of aerospace technology. “This partnership with SHPE is another way to start breaking down roadblocks that students of color continue to face for advanced engineering education and career opportunities.”