Latino youth in Indiana face significant barriers as they strive for a better future. For one, their college-going rate is the lowest of any demographic subgroup in the state and has seen a sharp decline since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data cited in a
January 2025 NPR article, higher educational institutions collectively experienced a 15% decline in enrollment between 2010 and 2021.
According to an August 2024 journal article, Latine student enrollment dropped by about 7% in just two years, with community colleges feeling the biggest hits.
Latinos Count Executive Director Steve Corona isn’t satisfied with the status quo. He believes this situation is precisely why his organization — which is focused on empowering Indiana’s Latino youth — is so relevant.
While other ethnic groups have found their footing, Latino students are lagging behind their peers on this front. In his estimation, language barriers exacerbate these issues. Many families struggle to understand the convoluted path to higher education, particularly when guidance is only available in English.
“Trying to figure out college costs is confusing for anyone, even for English-speaking families,” Corona says. “Imagine trying to do that in a second language, when all the guidance you get is in English and your counselor can’t communicate with your parents. That’s why bilingual support is so important.”
Further compounding the problem, schools in northeast Indiana generally lack bilingual professional staff. Per Corona, Fort Wayne Community Schools, for example, recently lost its sole bilingual guidance counselor to retirement.
Key programs designed to help students pursue career and college opportunities have also lost funding due to state budget cuts. The discontinuation of federal initiatives, such as
GEAR UP, and the state’s Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program, has left many vulnerable students without the support they need.
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Entrepreneur Aaron Robles and Latinos Count Executive Director Steve Corona That’s why Latinos Count, founded in 2012, has stepped up to fill this critical gap with a strategic and multifaceted response. Early this year, the nonprofit partnered with
fundraising consultant Ed Kominowski to reshape its approach, focusing on securing foundation grants. This strategy brought promising results, including a $300,000 grant from the
Don Wood Foundation to boost programming capacity and hire bilingual career coaches. For context, the largest grant the organization received prior to this one was $100,000, Corona notes.
“This grant validates who we are in the eyes of other donors and supporters,” Corona says. “We’ve been getting money here and there, but this is serious money that shows other foundations and the community what we’re capable of. Our hope is that this is just the start, and that we’ll continue building the relationships and systems we need to keep serving Latino youth and their families, wherever they are.”
To that end, Latinos Count plans to embed bilingual career coaches in high schools and extend their services to meet families in the community, whether at local churches, community centers, or weekend gatherings.
The organization’s approach stands out for its emphasis on diverse post-graduation pathways. While increasing college enrollment and graduation remain key goals, their efforts also promote “pathways” such as the skilled trades, military service, apprenticeships, work opportunities, and entrepreneurship.
Through career exploration events and personalized guidance, Latinos Count is helping Latino students explore their options after high school and build a plan for the future.
Corona is bullish on the initiatives’ potential impact. The grant from the Don Wood Foundation will fund four years of programming, with the goal of serving 2,800–2,900 students. The organization also plans to measure outcomes using a robust Customer Relationship Management system to ensure transparency and accountability.
This won’t be Latinos Count’s first foray into student engagement. For example, career exploration events, held in partnership with Purdue University Fort Wayne and Valparaiso University, drew between 600 and 700 Latino youth this year alone. According to Corona, these events expose students to various careers and educational opportunities, emphasizing the importance of early planning.
“What I tell students is, ‘Don’t walk out with your diploma with no idea of what you’re going to do. Figure out your exit strategy.’ We try to expose them to those options early.”
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Students pose with keynote speaker Gian Paul Gonzalez at the 2024 annual scholarship event.Corona contends that success also lies in community-based innovation. Plans are in the works to meet families after Spanish-language church services. It’s all about building relationships in already familiar places.
Despite the promise of its programs, Latinos Count faces significant limitations. The initial funding is limited to two bilingual career coaches, a number that will be stretched thin across the 10-county area they aim to serve.
“We think it’s modest, but a good start,” Corona says. “Still, there’s a lot of ground to cover, and we’re hoping other funders will join us so we can expand in the future.”
Scaling up the program will also require substantial organizational growth.
“We’re building this from the ground up,” he says, emphasizing the importance of infrastructure like volunteer management, outcome tracking, and expanded donor relations to level up. While the organization is exploring capacity-building opportunities with the Lilly Endowment, these efforts are still in development.
Additionally, there is complexity in determining the employment structure for the new roles. Bilingual coaches may work as contractors rather than employees, which could present challenges in building a cohesive team.
“We haven’t decided yet if they’ll be employees or 1099 contractors, but we know they must speak both English and Spanish—that’s essential,” Corona says. “The flexibility is nice, but we’ll have to see how that model works in practice.”
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Latinos Count’s annual scholarship luncheon brings together hundreds of Latino students, families, educators, and community partners for a celebration of educational achievement/Speaking of practicality, Corona believes Latinos Count has identified the ingredients necessary for success. Meeting students and families where they are — in schools, churches, and community gatherings — enables them to reach those who might otherwise be missed.
“Being visible and accessible gives students permission to dream bigger and lays out concrete steps, whether that’s college, a trade, the military, or another career,” he says.