From Student Experience to Seminary Partnership: Truett Engages Hispanic Scholars Program
Having participated in the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI) since 2021, earlier this year Baylor’s Truett Seminary officially joined the Hispanic Scholars Program (HSP) as a sponsoring institution, taking another significant step in its mission to equip men and women for gospel ministry. This membership connects Truett to a national association of theological schools dedicated to supporting Hispanic students and to enriching theological education across denominational and cultural lines.
Founded to support the academic and spiritual development of Hispanic students pursuing theological studies, HSP offers a deeply formative experience that brings together students and professors from a wide range of Christian traditions and denominations. By taking an ecumenical approach, HSP provides a rare space for students to learn from world-class scholars who share similar cultural experiences and are able to model academic and ministerial excellence. In supporting HSP, Truett joins other well-known seminaries and divinity schools, including Princeton Theological Seminary, Duke Divinity School, and Boston University School of Theology.
The journey toward Truett’s involvement in HSP began through the initiative of Anabella Martinez, a third-year Master of Divinity student, who attended the program after being encouraged by Angel Santiago-Vendrell, associate professor of World Christianity. Santiago-Vendrell, a 1998 alumnus of HSP, wanted Martínez to experience the academic and spiritual vitality of the program firsthand. Upon returning from the program, Martínez shared how deeply the experience had moved her and encouraged Truett to consider joining as a sponsoring institution. “I can’t take credit for Truett becoming a member,” Santiago-Vendrell stated. “I take credit for sending Anabella—but she’s the one who spoke with our dean about how this was an important step for Latino students at Truett.”
For Santiago-Vendrell, Truett’s membership in HSP represents a full-circle moment nearly three decades in the making. “It was the first time in my academic life I engaged with a Hispanic scholar,” he recalled of his own HSP experience. “That experience changed my theology, my ministry, and my life.” His time in the program studying Roman Catholic popular religion and liberation theology expanded his understanding of Christian unity and helped to shape his vocation as a bridge-builder between Christian traditions and denominations.
Today, as Truett’s representative on the HSP Board of Directors, he continues that legacy by mentoring students in Latino religion, theology, and history and by encouraging them to find their own voices within the wider body of Christ. Santiago-Vendrell believes Truett’s partnership with HSP will benefit the entire Seminary community. “This program allows students to understand the Christian faith through their own cultural lenses and to see that their voices and experiences matter in the life of the Church.” Through this collaboration, Truett affirms afresh its commitment both to academic excellence and to the formation of ministers who can build bridges across cultures and generations. Santiago-Vendrell maintains, “I wish all Truett students—Latino and non-Latino alike—could experience this program. It’s life-changing.” Thanks to the initiative of students like Anabella Martínez and the leadership of faculty like Santiago-Vendrell, Truett Seminary continues to embody its calling to equip faithful leaders who love God, serve the Church, and engage the world with wisdom, compassion, and courage.
To learn more about the Hispanic Scholars Program, see hispanicscholarsprogram.org.