Underrepresented Student Experience

On October 28th, 2015, Lone Star College of Kingwood hosted an event called the human library. It was held on campus for students who were interested to participate. The human library was created for students to gain knowledge of obstacles individuals experienced in life, such as living in the south as a black woman in the 1950’s, being homeless, and being a religion that is frowned upon in society. The purpose of the event is to teach students about other cultures, social classes, and hardship. The speakers inform our generation their own personal experience rather than information in a text book.

The more knowledge an individual acquires, the more opportunities for growth are at hand. Not only this applies to everyday life lesson, but it is very applicable for all scholars of all ages. The library is a public resourceful place of where anyone has access to learning about literature, art, mathematics, etc. The modern age of technology has expanded the resources to unlimited online databases for any individual to search any topic. The library at Prince George’s County Community College offers available online, search databases for peer-reviewed scholarly journals, e-books, news articles, etc. Julie Seigel, is one of the librarians who is available to answer particular questions about the library resources. The information presented by Ms. Seigel was delivered in a clear speech, understandable vocabulary, and at a normal rate of speed.

A final critical element in support of student and faculty learning focuses on library instruction and research assistance. The realm of available information in all shapes and sizes is particularly overwhelming for the average undergraduate student. Librarians and staff assist students with basic and in depth research questions on what resources are available on specific topics and how to select the right ones. During the regular academic year, the library is open 116.5 hours each

In New on the Job: A School Library Media Specialist’s Guide to Success, Ruth Toor and Hilda Weisburg present a one-stop manual for first-year school library that details numerous aspects of what it means to be a successful school library media specialist. The authors, both of whom are veteran former school librarians, outline everything from the job interview to the last day of school, sharing years of wisdom and practical insight into the ins and outs of the profession. Special attention is paid to developing relationships between the various members of the school population and associated individuals, including students, teachers, administrators, school board members, parents, and volunteers. The authors remind school librarians to keep

The library I volunteered at is run by the high school, Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute (C.I.). The school was founded in 1979 and was named after Norman Bethune; a well-known Canadian doctor. He was best known for his services during World War I and his dedication to helping the poor in Canada. Moreover, over these past few years, the school has prospered beautifully and has had many renovations and changes. For example, two years ago, the school’s library had a huge makeover. The library was given new furniture to allow to have students a better working space. Similarly, the library moved shelves around in order to make it more convenient for everyone to access books. Ultimately, Dr. Norman Bethune C.I. has it in their best interest to provide students with the tools they need to succeed in education. In other words, the school displays good citizenship by assisting their students.

In reading your post, it was great at pointing out specific programs and opportunities already in the works to improve diversity among nursing students. Cowen and Moorhead (2011) identify some barriers that underrepresented students face that include faculty attitudes and inadequacies in meeting minority students needs, a lack of minority faculty to serve as mentors, and failure of the program to include diversity in the curriculum of culture, values, attributes, and orientation. Each of these barriers needs to be addressed by nurse educators and administrators to increase success of minority students in the nursing program. Retaining students is an area that also needs attention for the underrepresented students, and the presented idea of

females (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011). The second reason is that the less experienced teachers are commonly placed in the most difficult schools teaching the most difficult students (Douglas, Lewis, Scott, & Garrison-Wade, 2008). Poor teacher quality is a huge factor in the achievement gap (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011).

The number of diverse students entering and graduating from post-secondary institutions is increasing at rapid rates (Education Trust, 2015; Georgetown University Center, 2012). Between the years 2003 and 2013, 77% of public institutions improved graduation rates for underrepresented groups, including African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students (Education Trust, 2015). Despite this increase, there continues to be a graduation gap between underrepresented minority students and White students. Nationally, 42% percent of Black students that enter college will graduate while 62% of White students will graduate (The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 2005). There is a similar graduation gap for college students who are the first in their family to attend college, or first-generation students. Sixty percent of first generation students that enter college will attend college for six years without receiving a bachelor’s degree (Smith, 2012). Historically underrepresented students and first generation students face unique challenges and hardships that can make graduation difficult (Hunter, Laursen & Seymour, 2007; Jett, Curry, & Vernon-Jackson, 2016; Schwartz, 2012). High impact practices such as the Ronal McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (McNair Program) are designed to increase historically disadvantages and first generation student learning and retention in college. An importance aspect of high impact programs such as the McNair

The U.S. population is shifting and minorities such as the Hispanic race will soon exceed all other races in our country. We librarians have a duty to introduce our younger generation of minorities to our profession and begin chaining the view for U.S. minorities to have a better understanding of our profession. By doing this we can begin to change the perspective of our profession and to help ensure that more future minorities enter our profession.

STEM Students Continue to Be Underrepresented in Schools Photo Credit: Black Youth Project Tiana Young is an incoming first-year college black student who wants to double major in aeronautical and mechanical engineering. Although Rensselaer Polytechnic University may not have been her first choice, this private institution is one of the best schools in the U.S. that specializes in science, math, technology, and engineering. However, what makes it less appealing to Young, is the school’s lack of diversity which is a huge concern for her. Young graduated from a high school that is almost entirely composed of black and Hispanic students.

SPPV (1949) focuses on the education of a student being the responsibility of the student but responsibilities of student affairs professionals in coming to the forefront of the education process (Carpenter, 2011). SPPV (1937) focus on the student as a whole person including physical condition, relationships, vocational skills, emotional stability, and moral and religious values (ACE, 1937). However, SPPV (1949) was written shortly after the end of World War II and the authors seemed to focus more on democracy and the change in student population at the university level (ACE, 1949). After World War II many of the returning veterans took advantage of the GI Bill and now student affairs professionals were dealing with a more

Central Idea (Need): The worth of public libraries in America extends far beyond the books they offer; libraries also provide access to computers and internet connections, meeting places for community activities and groups, guidance services for patrons, tutoring programs, and advocacy for child literacy programs. Despite the value of these resources to struggling communities, libraries have seen a decline in both public usage and federal funding in recent years.

Many college decisions alone are made upon the evaluation of a campus’ facilities, most importantly, the library; the central spot students meet and attain their studies. The Watauga campus of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute has been neglected and is in dire need of a more sophisticated and modern academic library. Academic libraries benefit students, as well as faculty members. They offer a place for students studying alone or with a group, provide reference materials, and in some snazzy locations, a place to get a cup of Joe. Education is the basis of personal growth and professional success and a library is a wonderful place to begin this journey. According to Derek Rodriguez in the scholarly journal, Understanding Library Impacts on Student Learning, “libraries define, develop, and measure outcomes that contribute to institutional effectiveness and apply findings for purposes of continuous improvement” (7).

For students to be adequately informed about the value of the university library and resources such as the Internet in information retrieval there must be a careful collaboration between teaching staff and library staff (Kenney, 2007). The focus in this task, of course, is preparing students not just for the immediate research project at hand but rather to prepare them to be life long learners, to prepare them to be successful and productive once they leave the academic environment and take up their chosen careers (Lauer & Yodanis, 2012).

Curtin University Library (henceforth 'the Library ') is a large academic library that serves 30,000 students. Within this Library, the library services seeks to provide equal learning support and reference services to a diverse range of users. Currently these users range from: