Latin American Student Observation

This paper will try to explain the variety of hardships many Mexican-American students endure in hopes to gain a higher education. Many are driven by the “American Dream”, which is the idea that individuals living in the U.S. have the equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and abilities. The American Dream often motivates foreigners to enter the United States illegally, hoping for that “equal opportunity” to success. However, not everyone living in the U.S. has equal opportunities, compared to native-born American citizens. This is why it can be difficult for Mexican-American students to attend colleges and universities. A higher education is difficult to obtain for Mexican-American students because of their low socioeconomic status, their differing cultural and structural characteristics, and the social and political institutions in our current society. Although this paper does not focus on the educational opportunities in Mexico, this paper will mostly focus on the educational system in the United States, particularly California State University, San Bernardino. In addition, this paper will refer to Mexican-American students as first-generation college students.

In Latin American countries, they have a very unique culture. With their holidays, music, celebrations, and art, the countries in Latin America never cease to bring joy in people’s lives. Latin American culture is vastly different than other cultures in many ways. In Latin America, the languages of Spanish and Portuguese are dominant and most people speak them. However there are people who speak other languages as well. Latin America includes nineteen countries and several territories. There are a variety of different ethnicities in Latin America including Mexicans, Europeans, and Asians. Education inside the Latin American culture still struggles. Only a little more than half of kids ages 13-17 advance into secondary school. Because of this, the crime and violence rates in Latin America are at an all time high. These countries have been rated as one of the most dangerous regions in the world because of how high the rates of crime and violence are.

The progress of Latin America economically has made differences for the better or worse for several countries. In Central and South America, there are resources, industries, and agriculture that has been made gradually through the years. However, before the economic Latin America many know today, other civilizations lived first. In Central America, the Maya, Aztec, and Olmec lived there. (Document 1) The Mayans were known to live in the Yucatan Peninsula, while the Aztec lived in Tenochtitlan, and the Olmec in present day Veracruz and Tabasco. (Document 1) In South America, lived the Inca. The Inca lived in Peru, Chile. (Document 1) Aside from earlier civilizations, there are also four zones of climate. (Document 3) These types of climates are Tierra Helada (Frozen Land), Tierra Fria (Cold Land), Tierra Templada (Temperate Land), Tierra Caliente (Hot Land). All of these have different livestock and crops depending on the climate.

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” (Kramarae 1). As a citizen of America that is Hispanic the idea that men belong in superior roles in workplaces and homes while women do the “simpler” jobs was taught and should be addressed by politicians. For generations, men have been seen as superior to women, to the point where women lose their basic human rights. Women are seen as weak and incapable of doing anything for themselves. However, women have the ability to be independent. While some American and Hispanic people believe women are treated equally and feminism is an excuse for women to “rebel” because they have not experienced discrimination based on their gender, there are some American and Hispanic people, mostly

The Hispanic population is one of the fastest-growing minority populations in the United States. Despite their growing number and the great strides taken to narrow the academic gap, students learning English as a second language remain among the most educationally disadvantaged groups in the country. Madrid states that, “poor academic achievement of Latino students is indicative of a complex, multifaceted problem that must be addressed because as the Latino student population continues to grow, their poor achievement especially in mathematics and reading has significant implications not only for California’s public educational system, but also for the state’s and nation’s social, political, and economic future.”(2011). Schools across the country, both those that have served Hispanic students for many years and those that have new and growing populations, must take steps to improve the likelihood that Hispanic students reach the same high standards expected of all students.

She continued her education at Livingston University, Livingston, AL accepting work-study and numerous cleaning jobs to earn an income. She graduated Livingston University in 1993 obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science and a Master’s Degree in 1994.

If you were to walk into Thompson and go through each floor, you would notice a distinct difference between the 2nd floor and the 3rd and 4th floor: segregated housing. On the 2nd floor, you will see a wide variety of people from all different ethnic backgrounds, but upon reaching the 3rd and 4th floor, you will only see a body of Latino students. Although at first this split may seem racial, in fact it is simply a split of preference. On the 2nd floor is standard UC Davis housing, and on the 3rd and 4th floor is the Latino theme dorm: Casa, which is the spanish word for home. My experiences as a freshmen in Casa has shown me that although the theme dorms on campus help to protect, support, and nourish their residents’ culture, due to the

Nicole Seelert continues to excel in and outside of school. As a senior, getting ready to apply for colleges and leaving a place that we've gotten so used to can be a bit nerve racking, but for Nicole, she is nothing but prepared and excited for what her future has in store for her. This year she is looking forward to see what college she will be attending as acceptance letters come in. For fun, she loves to spend time with her family and her friends because they are the people she can be the most open with. In school, she is currently involved in the Red Cross Club and has recently started volunteering for the city of Chino. In the future her goal is to become a cardiovascular nurse or a per fusionist. With her determination, there is nothing

While as a Candy Striper at Memorial Regional Hospital, she developed an interest in Social Work from a health perspective but her main interest began when she read a book “Black like me” which was about a white male who was interested in race relations in the country where he would take drugs to make his skin darker and travel to different areas to try to experience what a black male would experience. Because of this, she chose to be in the Social Work Program.

With the rise of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) over the last few decades there has been a word circulating throughout the Latino community, and that is latinx. What does it mean and where did it come from? Latinx according to Oxford Living Dictionaries says, “a person of Latin American origin or decent (used as a gender-natural or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina)” (Latinx | Definition of Latinx in English by Oxford Dictionaries). Understanding Latinx communities and how we can help them as Latino’s helps unify us as Latino’s and can help promote Pan-Americanism.

Christina graduated from High School in 2007, where she then attended Middle Tennessee State University to obtain her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. However, over time having a passion for working with the elderly became a new career interest. Presently, Christina is a graduating senior at Tennessee State University, majoring in Health Care Administration and Planning. Upon graduating in December 2016, she plans to apply the Administrator-In-Training (AIT) program at National Healthcare Corporation (NHC) so that she can eventually become a Director of an Assisted Living Facility.

In this reading the author talks about the Latina experience in the US and the cultural differences. She said that her religion and culture created vagueness about her womanhood. Womanhood was a subject not spoken about often, making it difficult for her to get out of her comfort zone, seek guidance, and in some cases talk about it. After the event with her classmate she understood why they are many pregnant teens. Their own culture and religion had made the subject of womanhood a taboo, by not letting them know the reality of love and the different ways to protect themselves during sex. This had also caused them to be ashamed and scared to talk about the subject.

“Those of us who have been fortunate enough to go to Bucknell are among the luckiest people in the world,” she said. “I believe that we have a responsibility to give back.”

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States was the most dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. European nations conceded to the United States their right of any intervention in the Western Hemisphere and allowed the United States to do whatever they wanted. The United States took this newly bestowed power and abused it. The United States intervened in many Latin American countries and imposed their policies on to these countries against their will. A perfect example of this aggression is what occurred in the Dominican Republic in 1904. The United States intervened in this sovereign nation and took control of their economy and custom houses. A memorandum from Francis B. Loomis, the United States Assistant

History of the region from the pre-Columbian period and including colonization by the Spanish and Portuguese beginning in the 15th century, the 19th-century wars of independence, and developments to the end of World War II.Latin America is generally understood to consist of the entire continent of South America in addition to Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean whose inhabitants speak a Romance language. The peoples of this large area shared the experience of conquest and colonization by the Spaniards and Portuguese from the late 15th through the 18th centuries as well as movements of independence from Spain and Portugal in the early 19th century. Even since independence, many of the various