Several years ago, the Molina sisters were translating for American doctors at a charity event near their hometown of La Romana in the Dominican Republic when a volunteer approached the girls.

He introduced himself as Arch Aicheson, the Elon Community Church pastor, and after learning Doris Molina was searching for college, mentioned a small, liberal arts college in North Carolina as a place to consider.

In 1999, Doris became the first member of the Molina family to be enrolled at Elon. After graduating from high school, her two younger sisters, Alex and Carolina, have joined their oldest sister at Elon.

Growing Hispanic population

When Alex arrived on campus in the fall of 2001, she was part of a small minority student population. Last year, only 1.2 percent of the student body was reported as having Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, according to statistics from Institutional Research. This means that of the 4,432 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at Elon last fall, only 51 were Hispanics.

Compared with other minority student groups, such as African-American, Asian and Native American, the Hispanic students have been steadily increasing over the last decade. In the fall of 1993, Latinos made up merely .6 percent of the student population.

Molina, an international Hispanic student, said she came to Elon expecting a little more diversity.

"In terms of international population, it was kind of a disappointment," Molina said, referring to her initial reaction as a freshman.

Greg Zaiser, associate dean of admissions, said in the past the university has channeled its minority recruitment attention toward African-Americans.

"Elon is in the process of broadening its recruitment effort," Zaiser said. As early as next fall, members of the admissions office may be sponsoring college fairs in cities across the country with a concentrated effort in major Hispanic or Latino communities.

Molina, a sophomore biology major, acknowledged Elon’s current efforts to recognize and celebrate the global diversity on campus.

"As international students, we feel pretty appreciated and that’s awesome," Molina said. She listed the International Relations Club—where she serves as treasurer—and the Spanish Center as key organizations that helped with the transition to an American university in a different culture.

Freshman Raquel Corona, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, said she also received a warm welcome from the campus community this past fall. In her first year here, Corona has become involved with the IRC club and Students for Peace and Justice. Still, she said, a larger population of Hispanic and Latino students would be nice.

"I wish there was more diversity," Corona said. "If there were more international students, then there would be more of us to go around and be with everybody else." At the same time, Corona remarked that many people at Elon have been interested to hear about her native culture.

Molina described the culture difference between international Hispanics and American lifestyle as a challenge to balance.

"The sense of community is very different in the U.S. than in the Dominican Republic," Molina explained. She added that Hispanic and Latino students may engage in an internal struggle to keep their native culture alive while being surrounded by American music, food and traditions.

"You become aware of the fact that you’re not a citizen of this country and you’re not part of the rest of the population—you’re different," Molina said.