2025 Commencement, Cerritos College
Twenty years of Excelencia in Education’s Examples of Excelencia show the impact that the selected programs have had on students. These programs have developed strategies that address academic barriers, and the data demonstrates that these strategies have greatly enhanced student success.
Founded in 2004 by Deborah A. Santiago and Sarita E. Brown, Excelencia in Education leads a national network of results-oriented educators and policymakers that understand the U.S. economy’s need for an educated workforce. Excelencia works to promote access and advance Hispanic and other post-traditional students in higher education.
“[To achieve] the value proposition of making sure that students are well served and they can have access to the American dream, we have to show what’s working,” says Santiago. “We are looking for programs that can show their intentionality in serving Latino and all students. … They are able to show that they are reaching out to students, they see their strengths and the opportunities to improve them, and they’re doing something about it.”
These four Examples were selected from programs submitted for consideration from across the country. The 12 finalists announced in August all serve Latino and post-traditional students with asset-based programming. Five crucial things that these four are doing: increasing affordability, addressing academic barriers, creating a sense of belonging, offering experiential learning and utilizing wraparound services.
“We hope these Examples of Excelencia are able to inform and compel others to do the same because if it’s just these pockets of success and improvement you’re not going to see the significant national evolution change that we’re looking for,” says Santiago. “What you see in these programs is they might start with Latinos, but they don’t stop there. Piloting and testing the things that are working…can be institutionalized and serve more broadly, impacting other students.”
ASSOCIATE LEVEL
GENERAL MOTORS AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE EDUCATION PROGRAM
CERRITOS COLLEGE, NORWALK,
CALIFORNIA
