Reaching Back Strategy: Using Mirroring, Trust, and Cultural Alignment in a Service-learning Course to Impact Hispanic Parents’ Perception of College—A Case Study

ABSTRACT

Thirty-four undergraduate public relations majors participating in a problem-based service-learning project at a Hispanic-Serving Institution executed an event that attracted more than 100 low-income Hispanic families to campus. The purpose was to help parents prepare their children for college. From primary and secondary research, the students identified 3 dimensions for reaching the targeted audience—mirroring, trust, and cultural alignment—which were dubbed the Reaching Back strategy. Our purpose is to describe how the Reaching Back strategy works, the benefits of problem-based service-learning projects for both students and community participants, and how this strategy can be replicated.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• hispanic
• hispanic-serving institution
• latinos
• public relations
• service-learning

Notes

¹ The terms Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably throughout this article.