Moises Saucedo, College Experience Coach; Gina Ponce, Director, Latino Community Outreach; and Maria Lopez Lopez, student employee.
El Camino Latino Center Connects Students to Careers When Gina Ponce decided she wanted to open Bellevue University’s El Camino Latino Center, she had two goals in mind: Serve incoming and current Latino students and their families and connect them directly with community business partners. Ponce, who has been in Omaha, Neb., for over 30 years serving the Latino community, is the Director of El Camino Latino Center. For many years, a Latino center was just an idea, but that idea turned into reality in August 2021 when El Camino Latino Center opened inside the Freeman/Lozier Library on the University’s main Bellevue campus.
10 | The View Spring 2022
“El Camino translates to ‘the road’ and we believe it represents a path forward that will change the way the university supports and engages with Latino students,” Ponce said. To provide that path forward, the Center’s focus is to connect Latino students to career counseling, workforce opportunities with employers in Bellevue and Omaha, financial aid and academic advising, and more so they can achieve their education goals and find the career of their dreams. What makes the Center unique is how it connects future and current students to its business partners. Each local
employer partner has a physical office space on campus in the Center where students can learn about various opportunities like internships and career options across several industries. El Camino Latino Center currently partners with six organizations including Omaha Bridges, Mundo Latino Newspaper, Heartland Workforce Center, U.S. Bank, Women on a Mission for Change and Goodwill Industries. Each partner serves as a connection for students to meet professionals where they can learn about various opportunities and careers.
