Educator Leonor Blum Recognized for Helping Latina Students Succeed

As a student at Wellesley College inMassachusetts, Leonor Blum, a native of Argentina, struggled with adapting to anew culture and a new way of learning.

“I attended a bilingual school in Buenos Aires,so English wasn’t a problem,” she says. “But in the U.S., you had to writeessays and speak up in class, and I was not used to that. It was quite achallenge for the international students, and no one was there to help.

“During those first two years, I felt lost andinferior and believed I would never make it.”

But Blum persevered, earning a bachelor’sdegree as well as master’s degrees from the Columbia University School ofJournalism and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Today, Blum is the founder and director of ¡AdelanteLatina!, a free afterschoolacademic enrichment and college preparatory program for underprivileged andpromising Latina sophomores attending Baltimore City public high schools.

A Baltimore Hebrew congregant who lives inCheswolde, Blum is among 10 semi-finalistsfor the 2019 “Homecoming Hero Awards.” Presented by the nonprofitBaltimore Homecoming Inc., the awardspay tribute to communal andnonprofit leaders, activists, artists and innovators making an impact. Fivewinners will be announced on Oct. 14.

“Myorganization is the only one of the semi-finalists that works with Latinos,” saysBlum. “Latinos are becoming the largest minority population nationwide, andit’s about time they get recognition and support.”

A wife, mother andgrandmother, Blum, 73, founded ¡Adelante Latina! in 2013 after working forthree decades as a historyand political science professor atNotre Dame of MarylandUniversity. She says she decided tospend her retirement years helping teenage Latinas be better prepared for Americancollegiate life than she was.

Located at Archbishop Borders School in Highlandtown, the nonprofit focuses on increasing cultural awarenessand improving vocabulary, reading comprehension and essay writing.

With a staff of three English teachers, two mathtutors, two math SAT instructors, a chemistry tutor, a program coordinator andan office assistant — as well as 32 volunteer tutors and substitutes, — ¡AdelanteLatina! offers math and science support, providesSAT preparation, assists with college and scholarship applications, teachesinterview skills and places students in paid summer internships.

Beyond the classroom, students have the opportunityto attend theater, museum and symphony outings, as well as a weeklong “CollegeBoot Camp” at Notre Dame.

Those whocomplete all three years of the program and enroll in college receive a $3,000scholarship. ¡Adelante Latina! isfunded through private donations, family foundations and organizational grants.

“I don’t know where I’d be without ¡AdelanteLatina!, which was like the master door to manyopportunities that have helped me grow,” says Jessica Marquez-Membreno, a GrinnellCollege junior majoring in psychology and the classics.

Says Evelyn Quintero, a Towson University sophomore majoringin nursing:“Through ¡Adelante Latina! I found my voice and confidence asa writer and learned it’s OK to ask for help. It taught me to be more open andbroaden my horizons as to what’s out there for me. Whatever I put my mind to, Ican achieve.”

A 2018finalist for the National Excelencia in Education Award,¡Adelante Latina! has beenhonored by the Latino Providers Network and the Ole! Group at Exelon.

“I can’t say enough about this wonderfulprogram,” says Dr. John Sinnigen, a retired UMBC Spanish and interculturalcommunications professor who tutors for ¡AdelanteLatina! “In addition to improving language skills, it offers confidencebuilding. … Leonor Blum is anincredibly intelligent, caring and totally engaged director who knowswhat’s going on with each and every student, even after they’ve graduated. Shereally is a role model.”

Every year, ¡Adelante Latina! workswith an average of 36 students, with 100 percent of its graduates gainingadmission to colleges.

“It’s rewardingto see these girls get accepted into college, and I’m especially pleased whenthey choose a liberal arts major like I did,” Blum says.

As theorganization’s executive director, Blum divides her time between programmanagement, fund-raising and one-on-one tutoring. She also steps in to teachgroup classes when needed.

“I want ourstudents to have better lives than their parents, who are living hand-to-mouthand really sacrificing,” she says.

Marquez-Membrenosays Blum is fully deserving of the “Hometown Hero Award.”

“¡AdelanteLatina! providedme with so much support, and Ms. Blum was the backbone,” she says. “As mypersonal mentor and tutor, she helped me prepare for college, as well as myFrench studies, the International Baccalaureate history exam and theMERIT Health Leadership Academy application.

“She continues to be there for me, and nowis helping with my study abroad essay,” Marquez-Membreno says. “I am sograteful to her.”

For information, visit adelantelatinabaltimore.org.For information about the Hometown Hero Award, visit baltimorehomecoming.com/heroes/.

Caryn R. Sagal is a Baltimore-based public relationsconsultant and freelance writer.