Georgia Latino Students Succeed
By: Andres Parra, GALEO Intern
September 1, 2016
Latinos in the U.S. are extremely resilient and hardworking. A large majority of us are immigrants who have succeeded despite the linguistic and cultural struggles we have encountered, with only a fleeting dream and our own two hands. In the past ten years our community has made enormous strides of progress in this country in all areas. In education, our high school dropout rates have greatly decreased and our college enrollment has greatly increased 1. This is perhaps the greatest sign of our community’s progress because of the benefits a formal education can have not only on our own careers but for our communities and for generations to come after. Education is a great path towards social mobility, change, and if you want to study you can do it despite of your income level or legal status.
The large majority of Latino young adults say education is important for success in life, and nearly fifty percent of Latinos are pursuing public two year schools 1, 2. The large majority of Latinos who do not pursue education do so because of financial pressures to support their own families1. This is the reality in our communities and it highlights our hardworking nature and family oriented values. Values often highlighted by our parent’s journeys to the United States in search of better opportunities, journeys upon which our opportunities to pursue education stand on. We ride on their calloused hands from picking crops, their broken backs from washing floors, we ride on their tears and fears of finding the last hundred dollars to pay for rent. Not the journeys of all Latinos here have been the same, but we have all faced our own goliaths and these battles have only strengthened us. Our parents’ journeys and our own have taught us to be humble, to be grateful, to be thankful, and most of all the value of hard work.
Just in our GALEO family there are a large number of examples of Latinos succeeding academically. One of our canvassers Nataly Morales Villa was a recipient of the 2016 First Generation Scholarship. She is studying in the University of North Georgia and will earn a degree in Sociology. Maria, our current Program Coordinator for Leadership Development & Policy for GALEO, started working in “Polleras” with her family. She has now graduated Cum Laude from the University of North Georgia with her Bachelor’s in Business Administration in Finance. One of our previous canvassers, Jessie, earned the Goizueta scholarship and is studying finance in Georgia State. I, Andres Parra, am studying Political Science in Carleton College as a Questbridge scholar. We are only four of hundreds of members of the GALEO family that have earned or are pursuing a four-year degree and are dedicated to give back to the Latino community. Education is within the reach of all Latinos despite of legal status or income level. If we, as immigrants, children of immigrants, and/or first-generation college students can do it that should let you know that you can too.
If you are a Latino who wants to pursue higher education do not let others or your own economic or legal fears stop you from pursuing a degree. Although not all schools allow undocumented students in the state of Georgia, there are many great schools around us that do. Universities want students like you. They want students from different economic and racial backgrounds who will bring intellectual diversity. There are many scholarship programs that will cover most of your education that can be found with a little bit of time and research. Most of these scholarships offer a holistic application that will show college admissions who you are and what your story is, which is a much better way to predict success than just grades. There will be links to multiple scholarships at the end of this blog where you can find more information for scholarships like Questbridge and Posse which cover all or most of your tuition. These scholarships also provide you with a support group in your new school. No matter what your past holds do not let others’ fears or prejudices stop you from reaching your dreams, and always remember the values and the people that helped you get there.
Questbridge deadline September 27
Gates Millennium Scholars Program
Goizueta scholarship
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the author only. It is not to be assumed that the opinions are those of GALEO or the GALEO Latino Community Development Fund. For the official position on any issue for GALEO, please contact Jerry Gonzalez, Executive Director of GALEO at jerry@2014old.galeo.org.