As an undergrad, Professor Antonio Ramirez took the first Latino studies class that was offered at his school. This experience not only taught him more than he already knew about Latino history and culture but it inspired him to start thinking more about his own culture and background.

“One of the interesting and important things about ECC for me is that it had a really diverse population and there is a large Latino population here,” Ramirez said.

When he first started teaching at ECC Ramirez took note that there was no Latino history being taught at the school. So he took it upon himself to begin teaching the first one himself. While doing research and preparations for his class Ramirez began to make many connections with many people at the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies at Northern Illinois University. While talking Ramirez and the individuals at NIU began to discuss the idea of doing more than just starting a class at ECC.

“We thought, it’s one thing to read books and study history and its another thing to do history and create history by talking to people and investigating important people in your own neighborhood and your own family and that really brings history alive,” Ramirez said.

So as a collaborative effort between the History department and the division of Liberal, Visual and Performing Arts of ECC along with NIU, Ramirez began the ECC Research Fellows program.
This marks the third year that ECC is offering the scholarship opportunity. The first year it was offered only one scholarship opportunity was provided to students. The program has grown since then to provide ten scholarship opportunities to students both this and the previous year.

The scholarship is for students of any major who plan on transferring to NIU after completing their degree at ECC. The scholarship offers $4,000 to the students taking part in the research fellowship. Half of the money will be for the student’s first two years at ECC then the other half will be provided when the student transfers to NIU.

During their time at ECC the research fellows are required to take Ramirez’s Latino History class. The class covers the history of a wide range of Latino groups in the United States. During their time at ECC, the students are also required to participate in one collaborative activity every semester. Activities like participating in talks at NIU with students and professors, or attending the Latino Film Festival. During their first semester at NIU, the student is required to take the Intro to Latin American Studies class.

The students also conduct an oral history of Latinos in the Elgin and northern Illinois area. The students conduct interviews and collect stories from individuals. The interviews are then housed at the Northern Illinois Latino Oral History Project.

“The Hispanic oral history fellowship allows me the opportunity to record historical information before it is lost,” said Erik Grenee, a participant in the ECC Research Fellows program and CS major at ECC. “Personal histories tell the stories of history on the ground, not the polished great man’s history.”

This research fellowship opportunity is one of many scholarship opportunities provided to students by ECC. For those interested in learning more about this the fellowship opportunity students can contact Ramirez through his email [email protected].