I think having a Hispanic president is great. It’s good to see leadership everywhere becoming more diverse.
Aidsa Salazar sheepishly admitted she didn’t know Milwaukee Area Technical College had a new president.
But the high school student who takes classes in MATC’s Architectural Woodworking/Cabinetmaking program was pleasantly surprised to find out that the college’s new leader, Anthony Cruz, Ed.D., is Cuban American.
“I think having a Hispanic president is great,” said Salazar, a Hispanic senior at Milwaukee’s Tenor High School. “It’s good to see leadership everywhere becoming more diverse. It means something to me that he understands the language, the culture and the background of Hispanic people.
“By understanding that, people feel good about being here,” she added. “And you can connect with them so much better.”
On Thursday, Oct.3, 2024, Salazar and several other Tenor students who attend classes at MATC’s Oak Creek Campus came to the cafeteria with their instructor Larry Pappalardo to connect with Dr. Cruz at a Coffee with Cruz event.
Dr. Cruz began his tenure as the college’s 11th president on July 15. By the end of that month, he had hosted Coffee with Cruz events at each regional campus and the Education Center at Walker’s Square. He toured each location and then served guests their choice of beverage — coffee, lemonade or soda — while talking with them for a few minutes.
Thursday’s event at Oak Creek was the first since the Fall semester started in August and more students have returned to campuses. Dr. Cruz has modeled his coffees on informal events he held as president of the Kendall Campus of Miami Dade College, where he served for five years before coming to MATC.
“Some students want to just meet me and some have something they want to tell me or something to ask me,” Dr. Cruz said. “I try to get a sense of where they want to go with that initial interaction. Some students take those next steps forward and really engage.”
Additional Coffee with Cruz events are scheduled for:
- Monday, October 14, 10-11 a.m., Walker’s Square Cyber Cafe
- Thursday, October 17, noon-1 p.m., Mequon Campus cafeteria
Open to all students and employees, the sessions are informal and no RSVP is required.
At Oak Creek, Dr. Cruz served coffee and soda and chatted with each of 100 or so students, faculty and staff who stopped by. He posed for selfies and handed out coffee mugs emblazoned with the words “Coffee with Cruz” to those posting the pictures on social media.
See more photos from the event
Before heading back to class, Salazar, her classmates and Pappalardo got something to drink and took a group photo with Dr. Cruz. “This is a good group of students,” Pappalardo said.
When she graduates from Tenor next spring, Salazar will also get a technical diploma in Architectural Woodworking/Cabinetmaking. Salazar’s father introduced her to woodworking. Together they built birdhouses that she hung in their backyard so she could bird-watch. Last year, as a junior at Tenor, she took a woodworking class and helped build a small boat that the class sailed on Lake Michigan.
“I’ve always been interested in working with my hands,” she said. “Plus I’m so much more of a hands-on learner. If you can show me what to do, it sticks. I can go out and do it right away.”
Salazar is unsure about her future. She is interested in many things — politics, art, medicine — but for sure wants to design and create her own furniture and perhaps open her own woodworking business.
“I feel lucky I have plenty of opportunities,” she said. “MATC has helped me get there.”
About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.