The Latino And Latino Community

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are experiencing low retention rates with first generation college students. The students are not graduating within a four to six year enrollment period, and or are not returning after their freshmen year. As the American workforce looks to colleges and universities to fulfill the workforce pipeline with educated diverse workers, HBCUs are in the spotlight to produce qualified minority graduates. Moreover, HBCU’s are looking to refine their methods of inclusion and buy-in, this will in-turn manifest a higher level of retention amongst first generation college students.

Growing up in a Hispanic household has shaped and built my values in life. At Appleton North High School, I am one out of the few Hispanic students. Knowing that my parents have migrated to America to give me a better future has motivated me to make it happen. Although, as a Mexican-American, I have felt out of place as a minority. However, with time I learned to accept my cultural differences. In fact, to this day, I thank my widowed father for the sacrifices and greater opportunities he has given me. My goal is to keep representing the few Hispanic students in college by working hard to achieve my career goals; not all Hispanics are fortunate enough to attend college. I also work to inspire young Hispanics to find their potential and follow

This statistic is important because it shows how much Chicano students have struggled in school at every grade level. Compare these numbers with the white community, “84 graduate from high school, 26 graduate with a bachelor 's degree and 10 earn a professional degree...Chicanas and Chicanos, have the lowest educational attainment of any group” there is great cause for concern (Marquez). These realities have a variety of causes as these students “usually attend racially segregated, overcrowded schools” and with “poorly maintained facilities, students are often enrolled in classes where undertrained, under credentialed faculty attempt to teach with minimal resources” many as "tracked into remedial or vocational program” (Marquez). David Scott ran data in academic performances by ethnic-studies students and states that Chicano students do better in school when having these programs available because they are a "substantial boost" for those poorest students (Scott 2012). If they don’t have these programs the result then is that “they drop out, or are pushed, out of the educational pipeline in higher numbers than any other group” (Marquez). While enrolled, “students often describe graduate school as a place where they feel invisible” as most programs “tend to be racially exclusive with predominately white students, faculty and curricula that omit Chicano histories and perspectives” (Marquez). For this reason, it is suggested by Scott for imperative

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 U.S. Department of Education’s Digest of Education Statistics (2010) compiles data on educational trends and statistics in the United States. According to the digest, in 2009 African Americans earned about 10 percent of all bachelor degrees awarded. Furthermore, about 20 percent of African Americans currently hold a college degree. When compared to the same rates for the white non-hispanic population, African Americans are largely lagging behind. The challenges that African Americans are facing must be met by post secondary institutions if this group is going to continue on the path of economic and career prosperity. This need is discussed in the report Minorities in Higher Education:

Introduction: Identification and description of the issue: Undocumented Latina/o access to and experiences within higher education

Although the subject of education, study behavior, has been viewed as a personal matter, we believe race and gender played a role in it. We interviewed a Senior Latino student named Irving Alvisurez. Alvisurez is a first generation college student that came from Los Angeles, California. When he first came to UCSB, he lived in FT and there was only four Hispanics on his whole floor, this gave him more opportunity to expose to foreign cultures and experiencing culture shock. He first majored in computer science and later changed to Chicano studies. As a first generation Latino, he felt more pressure from family rather than social pressures. His statement was supported by the arguments within his family based on his change of majors multiple times,

Latinos currently make up the largest and fasting growing minority group in the United States. In 2010 the Latino populations reached 18.8 million (Krogstad & Lopez, 2014). Since than the Latino population has continued to grow at a faster rate than the immigrant population. Yet with the increase in this minority group there still continues to be a lack of research when it comes to child abuse, especially child sexual abuse (CSA). Research has shown that Latino children have a higher rate of referrals to child welfare services (CWS) verses other ethnicities/backgrounds. Yet despite the high rate of referrals, Latino children have a lower rate of substantiation made by child protective services. Much research done on the racial

This creates a situation where both the student and parents are unfamiliar with the enrollment process and requirements. There is also a hesitancy to allow their child to go to college and become indebted with large student loans just to get an education. This reluctance clashes with the social and economic norm of the student being an actively contributing worker to the family’s income (Tornatzky 2006). Some Latino families may not see the economic value of getting an education for four years, when they believe that their son or daughter could have spent those four years in the workforce, or supporting the family with child-care. These family priorities and demands create friction and misunderstanding in the Latino community, where parents actually encourage their children to attend local community colleges, where the quality of education may not be very good, instead of going to an out-of-state public university. These financial conditions, family obligations, and demanding STEM-related courses may prolong the degree attainment process and raise the likelihood of Latinos withdrawing from

I have chosen to write the following paper about the incident rates of cancer and the Hispanic/Latino populations in the United States. Cancer is the number two leading cause of death in the United States among all populations. In the Hispanic/Latino, cancer is the number one leading cause of death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (hereby referred to as the CDC), “about 1 in 3 Hispanic men and 1 in 3 Hispanic women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime”1. The incidence of cancer among the Hispanic/Latino population is for all “new cases: About 58,400 new cancer cases in Hispanic men and 67,500 cases in Hispanic women are expected to be diagnosed in 2015”1 compared to the rest of the U.S. population. There

Culture is according to Zimmermann (2015), “the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts”. One culture that I am not affiliated with and did not grow up in is the Hispanic/Latino culture. Today, this culture is one of the fastest-growing cultures in the United States of America (“Understanding the Hispanic/Latino,” n.d.).

Studies show that although the number of Latino college enrollment rates have increased significantly, persistence and graduation rates tell a different story. Latinos are graduating high school and enrolling in college at higher rates, becoming the largest minority group in our nation’s colleges and universities. Yet only 22% of young Latino adults have an associate’s degree or higher, 8.1% have a Master’s degree, and only 6.5% have completed a PhD (White House Initiative,

One of the main barriers to college attainment is the alarmingly high, high school dropout rate among minority students; only 56 percent of Blacks and 54 percent of Hispanics graduate from high school (Green, 2002). Many of those that do graduate arrive to college academically underprepared. National studies have found the academic intensity of one’s high school curriculum to be one of the most important pre-collegiate factors

Since higher education is closely associated with upward mobility, enrollment in community colleges has increased significantly in recent years. The majority of students who decide to enroll in community college come from underrepresented minorities. According to McGlynn, 2013, 65% to 75% of students who start the higher education path at a two-year institution come from Hispanic, African American, and Native American backgrounds. These students enroll in community college for reasons, such as open admissions policies and lower tuition rates. Although underrepresented minorities compose a large student population, a longitudinal study by Gándara, Alvarado, Driscoll and Orfield, 2012, shows that only 17% of Latino students and 19% of African American students who expressed interest in transferring did so.