Jonathan Ibarra, App State alumnus and senior assistant director of loans and scholarships at the Office of Financial Aid, is entering his second year as App State’s Latin Hispanic Alliance advisor. He said one of the reasons he came to App State was for the organization.
“I came to the open house and noticed during the tour a large group of Hispanic, Latine students,” Ibarra said. “That basically drew my attention to wanting to come here. When I was given the opportunity to serve as advisor, I was thrilled.”
Ibarra graduated in December 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. He graduated with his master’s degree in May 2022.
He said he was part of the club as a student when it was called the Hispanic Student Association. Now as advisor, his job is to be a representative for the organization and support the executive board and other members in any way that he can.
“Being someone that was just a former student, alumni and someone who works for the university, I can make sure that I have their needs met,” Ibarra said. “If there is a situation that arises, I can go in and be the advocate.”
Ibarra attends executive board meetings and general abiding meetings to make sure students know he is there to help out with any difficulties.
He said he also makes sure to attend different events the LHA hosts on campus to help out where he can. He said at events like their Latin Hispanic Heritage Festival and Taste of Latin America, he is able to work closely with students.
Ibarra said as a student and now as the advisor, his favorite event is the Latin Hispanic Heritage Festival.
“You feel like you’re at home because you are surrounded by those of similar backgrounds,” Ibarra said in regards to the festival.
Senior sociology major and LHA President Kayla Ordaz-Magana said the organization is constantly in communication with Ibarra about support they need.
“He advises us on literally anything we need. If we want to do an event, he will tell us, ‘Hey, maybe you’re going in the wrong direction,’ but he gives us the full creative liberty,” Ordaz-Magana said. “He pushes us to a better direction and gives us knowledge that we didn’t know as students.”
She said her favorite event to host with Ibarra was a workshop at Watauga High School that was entirely in Spanish and meant to educate students on financial aid and FAFSA. She said they were able to serve bread and hot chocolate.
Mia Acosta-Nicholson is a sophomore exercise science major and does internal community outreach for the LHA executive board.
“FAFSA was being weird, it was new, so it came out later, and then there was the crash,” Acosta-Nicholson said. “I learned so much during that FAFSA presentation. Give him his flowers, because before that presentation, I didn’t realize how difficult so many of my peers’ families had it registering for FAFSA without social security numbers.”
Senior construction management major and LHA Vice President Edgar Jaimes-Ramos was able to receive help from Ibarra with financial aid in his own life. Jaimes-Ramos said when he first filled out his FAFSA, he did not receive any financial aid. He said Ibarra encouraged him to try again, and when he did, he got back more money than he had originally spent on that semester.
“He got me a complete refund and walked me through every step of the way. Any question I had, whether it was 6 p.m. or 6 a.m., he would answer in a timely manner,” Jaimes-Ramos said. “I can’t thank him enough for that.”
Ibarra said the LHA is also open to those who do not identify themselves as Latino or Hispanic. He said the organization wants people to have the opportunity to learn about other cultures.
“Whether that’s language, whether that’s the food, whether it’s seeing a live performance like dancing, you get a bit more of a sense of how other cultures are so different,” Ibarra said. “For those that identify as Latine or Hispanic, it’s just an opportunity for them to know that you’re not alone, that there are people like you.”
Para leer en español haz clic aquí.
