Irving Alvisurez

One’s identity has the ability to play a central role in one’s schooling experience and in return, affect the way they perceive the world around them. Growing up in an Asian household located in a predominately Asian American neighborhood located in the San Gabriel Valley, I always identified myself strongly to my race and took pride in being a first generation Asian American child. Race has definitely affected my schooling experience in many different ways, both positively and negatively. In addition, there were a variety of other aspects such as stereotypical gender roles and socioeconomic class status which factored into the way I learned in the U.S. education system. In this paper, I will examine how race, class, and gender played a big role throughout my schooling experience.

My Hispanic culture is exceedingly unique contrast to other cultures because we have countless of beliefs, holidays, lifestyles, etc. My world of Hispanic culture raised me to become an independent and determined person because being the first generation of a Hispanic family to attend college has my family beyond thrilled for me to put value to our heritage. Putting value in our heritage is a magnificent emotion because people anticipate Hispanics to fail; but, we prove them wrong when we accomplish our goals. The Hispanic culture’s strength is unbelievably astonishing because we are ambitious of our dreams and we don’t cease until we fulfill our wish. Including the Hispanic culture at University of Washington may open people’s mind that we

Growing up as a first-generation college-bound Hispanic woman has proven to be a difficult journey. Both of my parents left their home countries at a young age and came to this country without any ideas or real opportunities on where to begin. At a young age, I have been taught that having a higher education is the key to having a successful and plentiful life. However, the journey towards achieving my dream of receiving a higher education has been filled with moments where I have challenged the stereotypes about getting pregnant and dropping out of high school, facing my grandma’s unexpected illness that affected me both academically and mentally, and the challenge of being a first generation college bound student in my family.

In a 2004 journal by Susan Auerbach, the concept of parental influence and support for Latina/o students is addressed. Auerbach shares that, “Research suggests the pivotal role of parents in promoting students’ college going” (Auerbach, p.127). It is no mystery that parents have great influence over their children, and when a parent is uneducated on how to best advise their child regarding higher education, they are unable to use this influence to encourage attendance. Auerbach states, “Families without a tradition of college going do not have sufficient knowledge to help their children navigate pathways to college” (Auerbach, p.140). According to the Latino Eligibility Study, the single most important barrier to college access for Latino students in California is lack of active knowledge of the steps needed to go to college (Gandara, 1998,2002). Parents of first generation students need tools that can aid in the child’s success and serve as a means of knowledge on what can be a challenging and confusing process. Another issue tied to parent involvement and understanding is that, “Poor and working class Latino families come to college preparation relatively late in students’ careers, with fewer resources and more obstacles” (Auerbach, p.136). The journal supports the idea that Latino/a parents are in need of early access to college preparation education in order to be able to challenge and support their

The National Center for Education reports that 73% of all students have some characteristics of the non-traditional student (Compton, Cox, & Laanan, 2006). These students bring with them desires and needs that are different from their traditional

Growing up in a one bedroom apartment in the ghetto of Ontario, influenced by gangs and violence, is not the ideal childhood to experience. In a community that is predominantly Latino the expectations for academics are

Many Hispanic students are discouraged to attend college because their scores are remarkably lower than those of white students. Furthermore, these high-achieving students who did well in high school, will not qualify for the scholarships deserving to them, and moreover desperately needed to attend college because they do not meet the SAT score requirement for these scholarships [5]. Left with no other options, many Hispanic students are forced to join the workforce in minimum wage paying jobs or enter the military. Still others may turn to

Before I exploded, I finally spoke out my grades falling to my cousin Jeffrey, who is my age. I remember speaking to him about not wanting to be just another Hispanic statistic. I did not want to be added to a representation that disproportionately portrayed me as unintelligent or as academic failure (Martínez, 2017). I did not want to seek out professional services for my emotional support. This is common for Latino students because are less likely to seek out professional services for emotional support when they experience challenges in college, especially at predominantly White institutions (Cerezo&McWhirter, 2014). I had a mental breakdown about school and missing home, where I saw familiar faces. Although I appreciate my cousin being

Author Anne-Marie Nunez, examined and researched how students who work while attending college can influence learning in different domains. The article focuses on how higher education could expand opportunity structures from Latino, first-generation, or other historically marginalized groups to improve their socioeconomic status and increase societal equality. “Compared with other racial/ethnic groups, Latino college students are most likely to report concerns that their financial situation will adversely affect their ability to complete their postsecondary degrees (Longerbeam, Sedlacek, & Alatorre, 2004).” (Pg, 92) I believe this article is a perfect example of the population at FIU and the impact it has on higher education. In this critique, I will be discussing what I believe the research should have focused on, the points I agreed with and disagreed with as well as what points could have been touched on.

This chapter will explicate the tenets of Critical Race Theory and review the extant literature on the emotional ramifications of perceived racial discrimination and microaggressions. This chapter will also explore the literature relevant to the experiences of Latina/os who have experienced racial discrimination and microaggressions. An additional aim of this chapter is to outline the existing literature on Campus Racial Climate. Finally, the research on the experiences of Latina/o students attending Hispanic Serving Institutions will be examined.

Sáenz, Victor B., Jeff R. Mayo, Ryan A. Miller, and Sarah L. Rodriguez. 2015. "(Re)Defining Masculinity Through Peer Interactions: Latino Men In Texas Community Colleges". Journal Of Student Affairs Research And Practice 52 (2): 164-175. doi:10.1080/19496591.2015.1018269.

Hernandez stated “ just knowing who I truly am, finding what I am compassionate about, and discovering what my true purpose is in life.” Hernandez is a 22 year old Hispanic female from Mexico who now resides in San Diego, California who has just completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology from San Diego State University. She contends that she has struggled over the last four years in college due to heavy burdens she carried. She is the first in her family to pursue an education and earn a college degree and there was pressure to prove that she could succeed. She also found it difficult to be engaged within the college environment and to connect with a variety of people. Hernandez’s Mexican heritage is an important aspect of her inclusive identity. She acknowledged that there are not negative impacts on this area of her identity. Rather, the environment she was exposed to was incredibly different compared with her cultural identity. Even through her struggle, Hernandez has chosen to focus on other aspects of her identity such as Catholic, musician, friend, and professional which relate to her current context. Thinking in this light has granted her the opportunity to experience life in different settings and has afforded and assisted her with the positive outcomes that she desires for her life (Personal interview, June 7,

I had the opportunity to be part of a program at OSU called the Oregon Migrant Leadership Institute, (or OMLI), where I meet so many wonderful people with more or less the same background as me and whom I easily connected to. For an activity, we were in groups sharing if we were planning on going to college, a lot of the other students were saying that they weren't sure if they wanted to go to college. When it was my turn to share, I didn’t know how to respond so I said “I have never had a moment in my life in where I thought ‘I’m not going to college.’ Since middle school, my teachers (and parents) planted a seed in my brain. That seed was the idea as college being the next step after high school, just like middle school comes after elementary and high school comes after middle school.” My Hispanic background had never had a negative effect on my education. Most Hispanic women don’t go to college because their uneducated parents don't encourage them to get a higher education, but my parents do because they don’t want me to work in the fields like they do. By going to college, I could break boundaries for Hispanic women, and I want to be a contribution to the betterment of representations of

The predominance of racial discrimination on college campuses has prompted researchers to study the dynamics of a university, and determine if campus climate/culture could be contributing to racial discrimination on campus. Specifically, if students perceive their learning environment as supportive, this may foster positive academic and social outcomes for students (Whitt, Edison, Pascarella, Terenzini, & Nora, 2001). With regard to the experiences of Latina/o students, research indicates that the level of support and comfort that Latina/o students feel while attending a university (a positive campus climate) can be beneficial to their psychological well-being and college achievement (Gloria, Castellanos, & Orozco, 2005).

Having attended Charles R. Drew High School, a predominantly African American high school, transferring to Rancho Dominguez, a predominantly Hispanic high school in Long Beach, California, would have proved a bit of a cultural shock if not for my previous acclimation to different cultures, which came from my earlier travels.