For some underrepresented minority students, it can be challenging to arrive on a campus of 35,000 people and still find themselves in a classroom with nobody like them. That is how many Latinos who come from more traditional Latino backgrounds may feel when they step foot into a college classroom.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of Hispanic students finishing high school has increased to 73 percent in 2012. However, despite the fact that more Hispanics are graduating high school and pursuing higher education, only a fraction graduate from the university. The Pew Hispanic Center reports that in 2012, Hispanic students represented 19 percent of students aged 18-24 enrolled in college, but only 14.5 percent of adults age 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree.
In science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields specifically, only 16 percent graduate with a STEM degree compared to 30 percent of white non-Hispanic students in STEM.
Sobeyda Gomez is a policy intern for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics and a Ph.D. candidate at The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. At the age of six, she moved back from El Salvador to reunite with her family in Houston, TX. Growing up, she had to rely on her peers to guide her through the college process.
“Fortunately, my high school classmates introduced me to the importance of college preparedness and a college education. Through hard work, determination and continuous effort, I graduated third out of 747 seniors in my high school,” Gomez said in a blog post on MindResearch.net. “I must admit that without the mentoring of my peers and the emotional support from my parents, I wouldn’t have achieved a higher education.”
Nationally, the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics has sought to address the financial barriers for Latino students, specifically the lack of financial aid and the need to support their families. Gomez notes that the lack of financial aid is “detrimental to the completion of challenging and time-demanding STEM majors.” ¡Gradúate!, a financial aid guide to success, is available in English and Spanish and provides information on resources to finance a STEM education.
In the Triangle community, the North Carolina Society of Hispanic Professionals organizes an annual college fair called “Mi Éxito, la Universidad.” Though the emphasis is on preparing for college, this event does not exclusively cater to high school students but elementary and middle school students as well.
Pedro Becquer-Ramos, sophomore in paper science and chemical engineering, spoke at this year’s event about how his scholarships have helped him.
“These events are crucial for both the parents and students. This educational system is foreign to many Hispanic families, so having organizations like NCSHP providing sessions like these is crucial. Parents learn about applying for college and financial aid,” Becquer-Ramos said.
After sharing his story on the panel this past Saturday, he noted the importance of having events like these for Latino students.
“They learn about what are the options for their students and they learn que ‘si se puede.’ [And] they are effective. At the end of the event, parents who wanted to speak on stage got the opportunity to, and they mentioned how thankful they were for events like these,” Becquer-Ramos said.
At NC State, the Minority Engineering Programs Office works to develop and maintain programs that assist with recruitment, retention and graduation of underrepresented minority students within the College of Engineering. One of the most important programs to engage young students is the Summer Transition Program.