Student Leadership as Equity Practice: Latiné Student Leaders Shaping Equity‐Mindedness in Community Colleges

ABSTRACT This qualitative study examines how Latiné student leaders engaged in equity‐oriented leadership through Avance, a student leadership initiative at a Southern California Hispanic‐Serving Community College (HSCC). Guided by Bensimon's (2007) equity‐mindedness framework, the study explores how participation in Avance shaped students’ equity‐minded perspectives, sense of agency, leadership identity, and engagement in institutional equity efforts. Findings indicate that students developed equity‐mindedness through student‐faculty partnerships, shared governance, and culturally affirming leadership experiences that fostered their capacity to recognize and address inequities within the college. Involvement in Avance also strengthened students' confidence as leaders and affirmed their cultural and linguistic identities as assets in leadership. The findings suggest that student leadership structures can serve as important mechanisms for cultivating equity‐mindedness and servingness by positioning students as partners in equity‐oriented institutional transformation.