By Sharon Omahen
University of Georgia
Jesus Mata knows his family isn’t a typical Hispanic family in
Georgia. That’s one reason he volunteers with a new program that
urges Hispanic students to stay in high school and enroll in
college.
Mata is a second-generation college graduate and a native of
Mexico. His daughter, Sofia, is a freshman at Princeton.
A web designer with the University of Georgia College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Mata is part of a team
of UGA volunteers spreading the word about the value of education
to Hispanic students and their parents.
Reaching Hispanic students
UGA parasitologist Ynes Ortega started the project with a
grant
from the University System of Georgia.
“The University System realizes we need to reach Hispanic
students and encourage them to finish high school and attend
college,” said Ortega, a native of Peru.
With the grant funds, Ortega developed magnets, pencils,
posters
and other printed materials used in information sessions with
Hispanic students and their parents. The materials are printed in
both English and Spanish.
“A common thread among Hispanics is their Catholic faith,”
Ortega
said. “So we chose to reach the students through their
churches.”
On weekends, the volunteers visited three Catholic churches
within 30 miles of the UGA Griffin campus. They put posters in
each church lobby with information about the program, meeting
times and places.
Rob Shewfelt, a UGA undergraduate advisor, food scientist and
the
only non-Hispanic member of the group, told about UGA admission
requirements. The others explained why earning a high school
diploma and secondary degree is so important.
Sharing personal experiences
Sharing their experiences helped the students realize that
earning a college degree is something they can do. Mata pointed
them to his daughter’s success.
“I made sure the parents and students I talked with understood
that colleges look for students who not only have good SAT scores
but are involved in their communities,” he said. “I told them
that Hispanic students actually have an advantage in that most of
them speak two languages.”
Most of the parents that Mata met knew nothing about the
scholarships and grants minority students can get. But most, like
other parents, want their children to have better lives than they
do.
“It’s sad that Latinos in the United States want to make more
money for their families, but they don’t know how,” said Patricia
Torres, a UGA research technician, native of Peru and
volunteer.
“Many Latinos in the United States work on farms doing manual
labor,” she said. “The ones who are parents want their children
to study more and get an education so they can better
themselves.”
Improving future generations
Torres hopes that by meeting with Hispanic students and
parents,
the UGA volunteers can help make a difference in their lives.
“It’s hard to convince someone they need to change. They have
to
want to do it for themselves,” she said. “But keeping these kids
in school is important for them. And it’s important for all
Latino people.”
The meetings uncovered two groups of Hispanic students. The
first
were either born in the United States or have lived here most of
their lives. They speak fluent English and plan to finish high
school and possibly attend college.
“Unfortunately, this is the smaller of the two groups,” Ortega
said. “The other group consists of recently emigrated Hispanic
students with limited knowledge of English. If they did decide to
attend college, their legal status would prohibit them from
enrolling and obtaining financial aid.”
This group is more challenging, Ortega said.
The goal of this program is to promote the idea of attending
college, not just UGA. “The spirit is to have them
finish high school and go to college,” she said.
Although the grant funds end this summer, the group plans to
continue until their printed materials run out.
