Increasingly, first-generation college students are coming from Hispanic families and Cabrini College is mission-driven to serve them. Named for the Patron Saint of Immigrants—Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini—it is who we are and who we serve. 

Because of who we are, Cabrini College is rewriting the narrative on how to become the best Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) of higher education in the northeast United States. To do this, we are creating a new model for the future by connecting to our past—our namesake, Mother Cabrini (as the Saint is affectionately called). In an increasingly global world, it only makes sense to find inspiration from a religious foundress who traversed the globe by land and sea. 

Wherever Mother Cabrini went, she and her Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSCs) served the working class. Likewise, since Cabrini College opened the doors in 1957, we have traditionally served first-generation students from modest means. That remains true today, evidenced by 41 percent of Cabrini students having modest enough means to be eligible for federal Pell Grants.

It was with that spirit that our four-person Cabrini College delegation flew from Philadelphia to Argentina in June. By following Mother Cabrini’s footsteps from a century past, we were walking into the future of Cabrini College.   

MSC sponsored K-12 schools in Argentina have no formal relationship with the only MSC sponsored college in the world—Cabrini College. That soon will change. 

During our pilgrimage to Argentina, we visited four of the five K-12 schools that were founded by Mother Cabrini over a century ago and today remain sponsored by the MSCs. In the city of Rosario, we visited Instituto Madre Cabrini. In Buenos Aires’ we visited Instituto Cabrini and Colegio de Santa Rosa.  At the end of our stay in Argentina we traveled to Colegio Sagrado Corazón in Villa Mercedes. 

For these Argentinian students who have been formed in the Cabrinian educational tradition, Cabrini College is creating opportunities to continue their education in that same tradition. “It makes sense to select from a pool of applicants that already understand Mother Cabrini’s charism,” said Angelica Martinez, the College’s multicultural recruiter who was part of the delegation. 

Cabrini’s Provost, Jeff Gingerich, Ph.D., also among our group, agreed. “It’s time to connect K-12 Cabrinian education around the world with Cabrini College. It’s a natural fit.” 

Mother Cabrini also worked closely with other institutions to further her work and Cabrini College is doing the same with Argentinian universities. In Rosario, we visited Universidad Católica Argentina. In Villa Mercedes, we visited Universidad Católica de Cuyo, and in Buenos Aires, Universidad Austral and Universidad del Salvador (an institution with deep connections to Pope Francis). 

During these visits we began formulating credit-transfer agreements for students from these universities who want to complete their studies at Cabrini College. For those who don’t want to fully transfer, there may be an opportunity for virtual courses. The sky’s the limit.

Cabrini College’s students will serve in Argentina, too. Raquel Green, Ph.D., assistant professor of romance languages at Cabrini College, was the fourth member of our delegation. Green will bring the first group of the College’s students to Argentina next spring for a three week, social justice-based immersion experience. During the immersion, they will live with the MSCs, participate in educational projects in their schools and also serve in marginalized areas of Argentina. Green sees the immersion experience as a valuable experience to education, language, social work, and other majors. 

Cabrini is also working to create a teacher exchange program, where K-12 teachers from MSC sponsored schools in Argentina can come to the College for professional development with the education department. In the future, we hope to create opportunities for the College’s education faculty to visit the schools in Argentina to learn from them. As I said, the sky’s the limit. 

And this is just the beginning. What we’ve started in Argentina we are going to replicate in other countries. I’ve already visited schools in China and Japan. Over the coming year, representatives from the College will be visiting education institutions in Spain, Italy, Brazil, and South Korea. 

We go to these places with the spirit of Mother Cabrini, who believed in serving wherever there is need in the world. We too believe we should offer a Cabrinian education to whoever in the world desires it—from our neighbors next door to our neighbors across the globe. 

After all, it’s only natural for a college named Cabrini.