Since 2000, Latine enrollment at four-year colleges has quadrupled; yet, just over half of Latine students graduate from these institutions. For ODI Scholars Lauren González and Nallely Segura, this is a major problem—one worth traveling across the country to address.
“For Latinos, a lot of us are going to college, but not many of us are staying more than a year,” commented Segura, a second-year Morrill (MSP) and Latine Student Success (LSS) Scholar studying biology. “It’s important for policymakers and program facilitators to know that and understand that.”
In late June, González and Segura attended the UnidosUS Education Summit in Norwalk, California, where they were joined by over 600 students, parents, policymakers, and education professionals to discuss current issues in Latine education.
Run by the largest Latine civil rights organization in the US, the three-day conference featured sessions with topics like Hispanic-inclusive American history lessons, Latine leadership, and the importance of bilingual childcare workers. Most notable to the ODI Scholars, however, was González’s very own presentation, one of just two student-led lectures selected for the summit.
“I presented on the importance of investing in higher education programs for Latino students, specifically to have more culturally tailored retention programs for Latinx students beyond the first year,” explained González, a fourth-year MSP and LSS Scholar majoring in public management, leadership, and policy with minors in civic engagement and Latinx studies. “That came out of being a part of the Avanzado Through College (ATC) program at The Ohio State University.”
Based on curriculum from UnidosUS, Avanzado Through College supports first- and second-year LSS students as they navigate the transition to college and life at Ohio State. Now a third-year mentor in the program after completing it her freshman year, González believes other universities could benefit from similar initiatives. Her presentation explored the problems Latine college students face and the potential nationwide benefits of Latine higher education support, backed by quantitative and qualitative survey research about students’ experiences in ATC.
“I was really fortunate to have the whole room filled. A lot of high school students attended, and program specialists were the other majority,” González said. “That was really awesome because many of the high school students had never heard of these programs, and that was really valuable information for them.”
Indeed, the presentation’s impact was twofold, sparking college program coordinators’ interest in cultural retention programs while simultaneously giving visibility to ODI programming at Ohio State.
“After Lauren’s presentation, a few students came up to us asking us about college. They were rising sophomores and juniors and were already planning for college, and they asked us about MSP,” Segura noted. “They asked us for guidance, and we gave them our contacts, and we’re still in touch with a few of those students. It was a nice feeling to know that we could be mentors to them.”
Networking with education specialists and policymakers throughout the conference led Segura and González to find mentors of their own, and the students also explored Cerritos College, Seal Beach, and the Norwalk area in their free time. Their biggest takeaway, however, was returning to Columbus with excitement and ambition for the future of LSS and ATC.
“Seeing examples of what others have done definitely gave me a lot of hope. I think there’s ways Avanzado Through College and LSS can grow and develop different services for students, especially nontraditional students, and I didn’t know that was really possible until I went to the summit,” González stated. “Often, it can feel really negative to work in this policy space and be an advocate in a time when the community is getting a lot of attacks, but being at the summit reminds me that there are so many Latino professionals, allies, and leaders out there who really care about the community and want to make sure that there is a better future.”