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MiHC La Puerta Portal Opens the Door to Success for Hispanic Students in Detroit

MiHC La Puerta Potal

Perficient is pleased to announce, along with the Michigan Hispanic Collaborative (MiHC), the enhanced availability of the La Puerta portal. Perficient developed the La Puerta portal framework as a way of giving back to the Detroit community and to pave the way for students to benefit from a college education.

The Michigan Hispanic Collaborative’s goal to improve the economic strength of the Hispanic community in Michigan.

“We believe that the most important thing that our younger generation can hold to help the Hispanic community thrive is a bachelor’s degree,” said MiHC executive director Anita Martínez. “By 2050, Hispanics will represent one-third of the U.S. population, however, our college persistence outcomes have stalled for 40 years. These facts propelled MiHC to create a scalable portal that provides our students with community, with mentorship, and with a blueprint to success in college and beyond.”

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In Michigan, only 15.7% of the Hispanic population are getting bachelor’s degrees. In Detroit, that number is even lower – 6.1%. MiHC states that the Hispanic “familismo” culture of strong and connected families ensures that when one Latino is educated, an entire community is empowered.

Bridging the Education Gap

MiHC’s program provides assistance throughout ten years of a student’s life – from junior year in high school, through early career. One of their key factors is technology. La Puerta, Spanish for “the door”, is a dynamic roadmap for students, parents, and young professionals. It simplifies the complex college and career ecosystem by providing a central location to find important resources such as:

  • Financial aid
  • Essay writing assistance
  • Access to scholarships
  • Internship opportunities
  • And more!

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La Puerta helps to also bridge the digital divide. Minority communities, including the hispanic community, are typically digitally discounted. Which in turns makes finding college resources even harder. With the portal, MiHC is evening the playing field.

“This is an opportunity to improve digital equities. There are some families without high speed internet, but La Puerta is mobile friendly and is intended to make the college journey seamless for students and parents.”

Anita Martinez, executive director, MiHC

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“At Perficient, we’re big believers in philanthropy and in giving back to the communities in which we live and work. We were honored to collaborate with MiHC to develop the La Puerta portal at no cost,” said Joel Stanesa, general manager of Detroit operations, Perficient. “MiHC is doing important work to advance education and career placement within Detroit’s Hispanic community. Our team of digital experts donated their time and expertise, and created an intuitive, comprehensive platform connecting MiHC Scholars with a variety of relevant resources that will help them achieve their educational goals.”

Benefits of La Puerta

La Puerta benefits not only students and parents, but also mentors, universities, and employers. Mentors can sign up to assist Hispanic youth to get to and through college. The experience is completely virtual and you can make a difference anytime, anywhere. La Puerta is available to MiHC’s partner schools, with plans to scale access regionally and nationally over time. Universities can customize landing pages in the portal to engage with prospective students and present offerings relevant to their interests and needs. Additional functionalities will be added in the future, including the ability for employers to recruit and hire students for internships and positions directly through La Puerta, slated for 2022 introduction.

Learn More

For more information about the program, visit https://www.michiganhispaniccollaborative.org/.

Perficient’s Promise to Diversity and Inclusion

At Perficient, we believe that the best companies are ones that invest in the professional growth of every colleague while embracing their individual backgrounds, voices, and perspectives. We also believe that diversity and inclusion are constant pursuits, and we recognize that the responsibility to help drive equity throughout the broader technology industry falls on us. We’re constantly pursuing progress, and we’re committed to actively listening, learning, and acting, to further advance our organization, our communities and our future leaders, driving towards an environment of inclusion and belonging.


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Sarah Shapiro, Regional Marketing Manager

Sarah Shapiro is a Regional Marketing Manager based out of St. Louis, Missouri. Sarah oversees marketing efforts for Perficient's GEO business units across the United States. She is a proud member of Perficient's Women in Tech ERG and serves on the Special Olympics of Missouri Young Professionals Board

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