New Latinx/e alumni affinity group sets sights on engaging alumni
November 20, 2024 — As a student, Posse scholar, and member of the Student Organization of Latines (SOL), Jasmine E. Sánchez ’10 was part of a group that painted murals that still reside in the Bernal SOL suite inside the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center and on Fourth Avenue in downtown Grinnell.
The Fourth Avenue mural honors the significant contribution that Latinx/e students have made to the broader Grinnell community for decades. Sánchez is now serving as the inaugural chair of Conexiones, a new Latinx/e alumni affinity group, and she aims to build something equally meaningful and lasting.
Conexiones is the second of three new affinity groups. The Grinnell Rainbow Alumni began last year and an affinity group for Black alumni – the Grinnell Black Alumni Network – will debut in 2025. Much like the Rainbow Alumni, the seeds of Conexiones have been planted and germinated through events such as the 2023 Multicultural Reunion.
Painted in 2018, a mural on Fourth Avenue honors the significant contributions that Latinx/e students have made to the broader Grinnell community.
“It is important that the College is embracing identity-based affinity groups for alumni because they provide another entry point to connect with minoritized students, each other, and the College,” says Sarah Smith-Benanti, associate director of alumni and donor relations for diverse communities. “The alumni have shared how important it is for them to show up for each other and for the students because when we are in community together it makes it easier to navigate the tough times, and more importantly share in each other’s joy.”
Jasmine E. Sánchez ’10
Sánchez emphasized that while the creation of the alumni affinity groups has been a goal for the Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR), Conexiones is an alumni-led effort.
“The College is providing us the space to create this, but they are not driving it,” Sánchez says. “This is an opportunity for us to say, ‘Hey, we came into this predominantly white space and there were many things that were wonderful, but there were also things that were really hard for us. How can we create community and support current students that are navigating those day-to-day challenges?’”
Lester Alemán ’07, a former Alumni Council member, is playing a support role on the Conexiones working group. He says he is Conexiones’ Nick Fury, “working behind the scenes to build up the team.” Sánchez, who Alemán has known since their student days, is Captain America, he says. Seeing her serve as chair of the affinity group brings Alemán immense satisfaction.
Lester Alemán ’07
“Jasmine is doing what she was born to do – lead,” he says. “She’s doing a phenomenal job. I can’t wait to see her flourish and this group to really make a name for itself in the alumni community.”
The group is launching this month and plans to communicate to Latinx/e alums across a multitude of channels. For Latinx/e Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) the group had an Instagram takeover that include a video of Sánchez and information about some of the working group members.
Luis Hernandez ’15 recently agreed to serve as a co-chair alongside Sánchez.
Other members of the Conexiones working group include Adam Aguirre ’06, Yesenia Ayala ’18, Andrés Chang ’05, Jasmine Gerritsen ’16, Graciela Guzmán ’11, Grisel Hernandez ’17, Karo Marquez-Gil ’17, Melina Rivera ’07, Ben Rodriguez ’98, Enrique Rueda ’20, and Zelle Tenorio ’17. Alums who would like to join the working group can contact Smith-Benanti at smithben@grinnell.edu.
Sánchez also plans to amplify the existing effort by Tenorio and SOL to organize more culturally specific alumni care packages for Latinx/e students. Coincidentally, one of the first ways Sánchez re-engaged with the College after graduating was bringing care packages for Posse scholars in 2016.
Alemán, who works at the Posse Foundation as the director of the Posse Arts and Posse Puerto Rico programs, says that while Conexiones is an alumni group, one of its overarching goals concerns student belonging.
“I think there are two opportunities in front of us as a group,” he says. “One is to do our best to mend and renew connections with alumni and another is to help the institution create a foundation for the inevitable increase of Latino students. And from doing that work, you can create and cultivate an environment that’s welcoming to every single student that goes there.”
Lester Alemán ’07, left, and Jasmine E. Sánchez ’10, right, are pictured with senior faculty member Kesho Scott and other alums at Multicultural Reunion 2023.
Sánchez, who earlier in her career worked in youth development and recently transitioned to philanthropic consulting, says the group wants to provide tangible and dynamic support for current Latinx/e students. “I want current students on campus to know they have a support network outside rooting for them, even if they don’t know them personally, to make sure they don’t feel alone or like they need to figure out everything on their own,” she says.
To this end and at SOL’s request, Sánchez is working on organizing a panel of Latine alumni to speak about their career paths and how they came to be in their respective fields early next year. The opening of the Latinx/e Cultural Center on campus will also be a major event.
In 2025, Sánchez expects to host a series of Conexiones events in cities across the country that will “meet Latine alumni where they are,” she says. “The Latine community is not a monolith; we have lived experiences that include a range of social and economic backgrounds, family traditions, languages, and even dialects we speak. We’re here and representation matters. It’s important for students and the alumni community to see us, and it’s also important for alumni who have similar lived experiences to see each other.”
—by Joe Engleman ’14