Reaching Out: Programs for first generation students

Before taking on this voice, I was very unaware of the programming for disadvantaged students.  Through research and readings, I've found several programs being offered by certain colleges and the government for which my voice could take advantage of if she knew of the information.

The TRIO program is funded under Title IV in the Higher Education Act of 1965.  This is to help students who have financial barriers attend a higher education institution focusing on class, social, and cultural barriers.  For a large majority (2/3), family incomes are under $28,000.  The TRIO program currently serves 19% Hispanic Americans.

One example of a TRIO funded program is the Groups Student Support service at Indiana University.  Students who are either first generation, have an income that meets guidelines, documented disability or have a need for academic support can apply to the program.  Through Groups, students are taken through a summer experience in courses such as writing, reading, and math and adapt to university life.  Professional staff is available for academic advising, tutoring, financial aid counseling and mentoring.  Through this group, students can join organizations such as an emerging leaders or ambassadors program in order to create a well-rounded experience.

For the upper education Maria wishes to attain, another component of the TRIO program is the Ronald E. McNair Post baccalaureate achievement program.  This allows students to pursue doctoral and graduate studies.  At the University of Central Michigan, the McNair Scholars program is a preparatory system to help students into pursuing graduate school.  Students are required to complete a writing seminar, participate in a summer research institute, work extensively on their research, and work to apply towards schools.  Through this process, it helps undergraduates enhance writing skills, prepare for the GRE, and understand the stresses of graduate school.

One of the items that needs to be emphasized when marketing to these groups of students is the ability to have large goals.  Most undergraduates, do not have the prospect of going to graduate school or beyond unless extremely motivated or introduced to the idea.  With these two programs, these dreams can be met with the help of the government.  These types of services should be placed in the general orientation program of any college and marketed to not only the disadvantaged demographic but expand to educate the whole in order to provide information for all students since as of now, students will be looking for financial and emotional support at college due to the economy.

Office of Postsecondary Education. (2008). Federal TRIO programs. Retrieved October 13 2008, from http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index/html.

Indiana University, Bloomington, (n.d.) Groups student support services. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from http://www.indiana.edu/~groups/.

Central Michigan, Mount Pleasant (n.d.) McNair scholars program. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from http://www.mcnair.cmich.edu/default.asp

Interview Part I: I'm the first one to go to college...

I was fortunate enough to be able to find a part of my voice at my assistantship site.  In the upcoming weeks I will be able to conduct a interview with a Latino female and through these two interactions, be able to combined the information into a full analysis.  In the short interview, I was able to ask the following questions:

What were your fears?

What surprised you once you got to campus?

What piece of information did you wish you knew now that would have been beneficial in the past?

What services reached out to you?

Analysis:

Joe, as he will be referred to, is currently a freshmen living in one of the halls I oversee.  He noted that since he had friends go off to college, he relied on them to relay him information about classes and workloads.  He feared coming in that he would not be able to handle the classes and it would be hard to adjust quickly.  His parents did not have any background and move-in was a very hectic and stressful event.  He felt comforted by the fact that he had a friend who he met during the orientation process who was in his same building.  What suprised him were how fast friendships and acquaintances were made.  There seemed to be an overwhelming feeling for most students and they seemed to have "the same experiences and reactions" even though they had parents and siblings who went to college.  He admits it is still struggles day-to-day but he knows that his RA, friends, and professors are there if needed.  He wishes that he would have known more about the learning center on campus and the services available for students. He says even though they were covered briefly in orientation, he did not remember information once he arrived and it would have been helpful when he started to struggle initially.

The services that are on campus are common ones such as a learning center, multicultural center, career center etc. He said he thought it may have been more personal once he got on campus but has not had any face-to-face contact with people other than the learning center.   Being proactive is a "large part of adjusting to an adult life", he said.  Though he wished that since it was a smaller university, that staff would take more initiative to meet students beyond hello and a pleasant conversation.

From what I gathered, being a first-generation student can have major struggles. As stated before, there is no checkbox in the application for a first generation student.  If these students can be catered to, in the process, it will only help develop a community of staff who is caring and thoughtful to students who are new to college.  Like anything in life, he and other non-first generation students shared the same experiences and fears.  Working in residence life, using items such as Baxter Magolda's questioning strategies have been important in providing a foundation to begin conversation for both hall director and resident advisor.  Once a student is flagged with a serious issue, for any reason, they are provided with resources and pushed in the right direction.  If faculty and other staff could be shown these strategies it might provide them with a sense of more purpose in one-on-one meetings and that they could have an impact on students outside of academia.

Finding Success

From the visits that Maria had attended, it seemed that she was concerned with the human aggregate over other elements of the environment.  Since she is the first in her family to go to college, she wanted a support group that was nurturing, helpful, and would allow her to grow academically and personally.  What can be taken from the past narrative is how the environment is constructed and the image that each university wants to portray.  Universities and colleges must be aware of the outward appearance they are portraying to future students.  Though each higher education setting has a different set of priorities, each should make the effort to create a welcoming environment to a diverse group of students.

If one was catering to Latinos, one should research at what these students look for and what is needed for success.  In a study conducted by Paul Creason (1994), he was able to find indicators in college that led to success for Latino students.  There were several barriers though that were unique to Latino students.  These included financial stress, family pressure, the curriculum, and being comfortable in the environment.  These success indicators include the following (p. 43-59):

-Strong role models

-A supportive individual

-Family support and their understanding in the education process

-Participation in extra curricular activities

-An understanding of prejudices

-Goal setting

-Leadership that builds confidence

-Demonstrating community service

Maria seemed to experience the appearance of some of these in her tours.  Her parents were treated to advice and talks on financial aid and their educational role.  The personalize experience that she encountered at State University created an instant connection with supportive individuals that could in the future be positive role models and link her to extra curricular activities.  In order to address the struggle with curriculum, colleges should make the effort to create a first year curriculum that helps student transition into college, understand the rules of the university, set goals and priorities, and allow time to access resources on campus that can lead to future leadership opportunities.

Overall, higher education institutions need to be aware of the unique needs of their constituents.  They must make efforts in their policy and curriculum to make accommodations to first generation students.  Though these student have needs that may call for more personalized attention, finding time to make this effort with all students can only provide them with a foundation of success and a closer interaction with faculty and staff.

Creason, P. (1994). An analysis of success indicators for Latino students at Long Beach City College. [Electronic Version]. 1-70.Retrieved October 3, 2008 from EBSCOHost.

Focus on the Family

One of the keys to success in any educational setting is a strong support group to go back home to when a student is in distress.  The question that is poised is: How homogeneous are Latino families as a whole?

With Puerto-Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, South American, and Mexican Americans, Latinos in America are a unique group of individuals that have a wide variety of family structures and environments.  Much of the variance in these families are effected by the level of poverty usually for Latinos being largely in a lower socioeconomic condition than their White and Black counterparts.  Francis Fukuyama's (2001) research  showed that with this poverty, many effects such as single parent households, a higher rate of birth defects, increased drug and alcohol problems, and impoverished living conditions. Though while living largely in poverty, Latino Americans hold a strong work ethic to improve their condition and a devotion to their families (p. 3).

When examining the stigma of the traditional Latino family it is often characterized as a male dominated household.  In Maria's case, being Mexican American, this is slightly altered with the woman being on a pedestal but at the same time thought of as weak.  In Glenn Hawkes and Minna Taylor's (1975) research, they looked  into seeing if this stereotype holds true to the culture.  What was found is that Mexican American families are affected by how connected with they are to their heritage and how acculturated they were to the homogeneous customs and culture (p. 809-810).  For the most part, families are structured as more egalitarian or equal. Both the male and female share power and decision making. Bilingual families were "more likely to be wife-dominated and less...egalitarian" (p. 810).  Urbanization is another factor that controls family structure.  A family that lives with a large Latino population compared to a family living in a White neighborhood, people are more likely to conform to the family structure of their counterparts.

When looking at Maria's family, her parents can be found using more of an egalitarian system for their decision making.  Regardless of a family structure, higher education institutions must be aware of the conditions of traditional ethnic groups .  These families may not have Internet, consistent computer access, or cell phones.  Traditional mail and newsletters may be the only way to advertise to parents and students.  In these family structures, like many families, a strong role model emerges and the need to mirror this in the college setting is especially important for Latino students.  This allows for these students to have a connection to the university and support group in order to establish a foundation to build their college career upon.

Fukuyama, F. (1993). Immigrants and family values. [Electronic Version]. Commentary, 95 (5). 1-7. from EBSCOHost.

Hawkes, G.R., & Taylor, M. (1975) Power Structure in Mexican and Mexican-American Farm Labor Families [Electronic Version]. The Journal of Marriage and Family, 37(4), 807-811. from Google Scholar.

Journal of Me: Entry #2

Campus Visits:

It's the end of the month and I'm about to take three trips to my potential colleges. I have a good chance of being accepted into all three and I had to visit to see if I could narrow down my choices. Since I'm the first in my family pursuing a college education, I don't really know what to look for in a school. I keep hearing that I will know and it will "feel" right, but that doesn't really help. What is exactly is this right feeling? I hope to achieve this feeling on my visits and gather information about my schools. I'm taking my parents and feel that they may have trouble understanding our tours but I hope for the best.

Ivy College

This is our first of the college trips and to the most prestigious one: Ivy College. It is right near the state line and hopefully all these trips don't put a burden on my parents pocketbook since gas is so highly priced. If I was to imagine college, this would be the perfect picture based on the brochures. It took about 3 hours to arrive and found the town to be in the middle of nowhere. Though it was easy to find, the college itself is surrounded by woods and a road leads the driver into the forest to discover Ivy College. The signs were found were all big names like the John Adams Building for Academic Admissions and the J.P. Reilly Scholars Union and Research Center. From the names, we didn't really understand where to go. We finally found our destination to the Lincoln and Brandy Orientation Unit. The welcome center, as I'll refer to it, was nice and interesting in many ways. It seemed more like a doctor's office than a welcome center. It was very quiet, neat, and demanded respect.

As our guide came, she gave us a packet of information to muddle over and we were on our way. The campus was beautiful. Brick buildings, perfect trees, perfect day, and a nice stroll through Ivy College. She explained to us there were many places to eat and see and made the campus seem smaller than it was. We arrived at the Jasper Kats Center for Medical Research and made our way to the 8th floor. There, my parents were whisked off to who knows where, while I stayed and met a third year student in the medical program. They took me through the criteria for admission and the ins and outs of the program. I asked a ton of questions and some were met with a "I'll have to ask" or "good question". Unfortunately, she wasn't able to answer everything. Next, I got to meet some faculty who were considered world-renowned scholars. They were very interested in my story and if I had any questions. They asked me about my ambitions and where I saw myself after college was over. I re-met my tour guide and I finished the tour exploring the student union, which turned out to be on the other side of campus. I found my parents waiting and it turns out they had a wonderful time with the financial advisor of the school but were still confused about the needs of their college student. Overall, the school and research power was impressive. They were very structured and the people were friendly. It would be nice to go there because I know that they would help me achieve my goals as a pre-med major and become a doctor someday.

Big City University

The second in our trips was to Big City University. Its location is in the heart of Downtown, USA and from what I hear, you get a great education and all that a large city offers. We've been to the city many times and it wasn't too hard to find, though the traffic was frustrating along with the rain. We got to campus finally and it took us a while to find parking. We had to go around and around even to find the place. We arrived at our destination to the large student center, made our way up stairs, and to find the admissions office busy with activity as we looked to start our tour. It had finally stopped raining when we started though the humidity was slightly annoying. We were taken here and there and nothing really stood out as too noteworthy. The city is surrounding the campus and is very noisy. I would hope that I could find a great little place to study once I arrived on site.

The last half of the tour was individualized and I was taken with my parents to the Franklin Medical Center to get a glance at their program. We were greeted by a faculty member and a student. They took us on a tour and sat down to take questions about the university and program. It seemed like the student didn't want to be there and the faculty member felt anxious about the whole event. Despite that fact, the tour was nice, the weather cleared up, and the city surrounding the university intrigued me. We were even taken into the city and pointed out how the institution collaborated with many business, shops, and restaurants. Overall, though the campus itself was interesting, the people weren't as friendly as I had hoped.

State University

State University is an in-state college that has the program I'm looking for, not as prestigious but will offer me a quality education. It is close enough to home and far enough away. Its a new adventure and the final trip on our tour of colleges. The drive was a straight shot up the highway and a right turn directed us to campus. Th signs to the university were easy to read and we turned into the school and a main road led us into campus. From there, we saw signs for the admissions office and ample parking. The main desk was right inside the admissions center and we were just on time for our campus tour. We were taken all around and the guide filled our heads with traditions, building names, cafeterias, book stores, and other things that seemed like the standard for all these tours. We ate in a nice cafeteria with trees inside and quiet spots to study. This was no normal lunch but ate with current students who had the same major I was looking into pursuing. This was amazing for the fact that I got to hear about what they did both on and off campus.

The second half of the tour seemed more custom and was to meet with an academic advisor who oversaw the medical department. The building which housed the medical department seemed full of life, people hanging out, and in general seeming to be engaged with what they were learning. I found my academic advisor to be friendly and open to any questions I had, which was nice, since I had a lot of questions. My parents at this point got taken to do parent things and I hoped they would understand what was going on. My advisor seemed to have as many questions as I did and really wanted to get to know what was important to me, my hopes, fears, and curriculum questions. He asked, "Outside of school, what do you want to do". This was something that flustered me and I had to think about for a few minutes. No one had ever asked me about that before him. I said I wanted to stay connected with my Latino heritage but at the same time get outside of my comfort level. I then found myself being escorted to the student life office, where we visited before, but the advisor made a call and we meet briefly with the Director of Multicultural Affairs. She told me about the programs they had to offer and gave me information on other activities such as Greek life, academic clubs, and sports. We then reunited with my parents and I found out that they were less clueless than usual. They told me that an interpreter had helped with their other tours and were informed about the financial aid process and what they needed to do to help me. As we departed, I found myself smiling because I think I found a right fit. Except I can explain this feeling. The people were what made this experience unique and enjoyable. They were personable, open and saw resources outside of their department to help.

In the end, I had to make a choice. I weighed my options and found that I was putting programs, buildings, and people against each other. I then prioritized what was most important to me. In the end, people seemed like the most influential factor on my decision. The program could be the prestigious in the nation but without anybody to support me, it wouldn't mean as much. I saw the situation I was in, being the first one to go to college, and the need to feel grounded. At one college, it felt like I was a priority to the campus. The faculty, staff and students had a good grasp on who they were, what they were about, and at what length they would help someone in need. I know that financially, some of the other schools are more expensive and I asked myself, what exactly I was paying the extra money for. I found that I could have a great program and people at one school. My final choice is State University. I said, based on my pre-conceptions, that I wasn't too sure about the school but the people seemed to be the deciding factor. I'm really excited to begin my journey, though the stress of finances are still there, I'm eager to become more independent!

The Journal of Me: Entry #1

A first person account of my voice

Frustrated. Confused. These are just a few of the many feelings I am experiencing currently. I'm trying to apply for scholarships, grants, and understand financial aid and everything is getting mixed up with what forms to use, when to apply, and where I send the paperwork.

I feel like I have no one to turn to. My parents didn't go to college. My cousins haven't gone. Even my neighbors, if they did go to college, it was in an another country. I try to work the best I can with my teachers and counselors but there seems to be a breach in communication. This is new to me, not to them, and its hard to express all the things I don't know. I feel overwhelmed. Who would have thought it was going to be this tough just to get into college?

More importantly, is where am I going to go to college. Our family obviously can barely help to support me, meaning that I will have to stay in-state in order to pursue my education. I guess it is not so bad, I will be close to family and my friends who are working. But, I wanted a chance to explore, try a completely new experience, and have a chance to define myself. I have three different choices of colleges a large state school, a mid-major university, and a private institution. I really hope I can get into a private school or the big school since they have a large amount of resources for me to use. I'm going to be visiting all three these upcoming weekends. I hope to find one that fits perfectly. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I think I will know when I find it!

~Maria

Current Readings and Viewings:

Growing up Latino by Ilan Stavans and Harold Augenbraum

The Motorcycle Diaries

The Culture of Now

In order to understand where my voice is to be going, I have to examine the current climate of the environment she will be entering. According to recent statistics 41.3 million Americans identify themselves as being Latino. Of this large and increasing number, 17 percent of this group is of the traditional "college-age". But of this number only 19 percent of these young people actually choose to pursue a higher education.

What could make this number so low? Is it the government? Is it the culture? Is it a lack of knowledge on both parts? A blame cannot be place in one place. one part is the lack of knowledge about the college environment to a large majority of young Latinos. Laura Rendon, a professor of education at California State University states ("Educating", 2008):

Many Latino students attend poor elementary and secondary schools...In addition they often come from low-income backgrounds and are the first in their families to even consider higher education. They lack knowledge about how and where to apply for college and what it takes to succeed once they're admitted.

Feelings of incompetence and frustration may be more prevalent than their White counterparts.

One other aspect is the lack of support in the higher education system. Being the first in the family, like Maria, to attend college they may not have any solid role models, mentors, or sponsors in that environment. Due to a backlash in affirmative action, college hiring committees have not needed to focus on the hiring of an ethnically diverse staff. The places that Latinos choose to attend choose are places they are likely to go and thus have stretched the resources of certain areas making them almost ineffective.

Contrary to popular belief, Latinos have the largest amount of college students applying for financial aid. Unfortunately, they receive the lowest amount, in terms of ethnic group, to get student aid awards. This aid is a critical part of assistance in many families since they do not have the funds to support their child fully. More than half of all Latinos receive a grant of some kind. This could be even more with increasing government sponsored programs. For example, one suggestion was that due to the lack of ESL teachers in secondary and primary education, that the government could create relief to those who chose to pursue a degree of that kind.

What is the culture once Latinos reach campus? Is it all the same? It would be naive to think that Latinos could be examined under the same microscope. With a large amount of Latinos coming from a variety of different countries, customs are almost so far apart that they could be classified to subcultures more than one complete group. In order to help these students succeed it is important to get a point of view from them. In an article published by Mooney and Drakes, they found that Latinos can fall into three separate categories in their attitudes towards higher education. One group can be called assimilators. These people have adapted to the dominate culture and may be so intertwined with the larger group that they are blind to discrimination and its impact on their environment. The next category is the accommodators. They see that discrimination is happening but believe that they, as individuals, can create the changes need to succeed in what they are pursuing. The last category is resistors. These individuals see a high level of discrimination happening. This is by far the largest of the three groups with 43% believing in this view according to a survey conducted by Mooney and Drakes ( 2008, p. 12-14).

The question remains is how can one begin to work with Latinos in helping them navigate the steps of higher education. Throughout my blog, I will try to better understand the unique needs of the wide variety of subcultures and see what conclusions can be made in becoming an advocate for my voice.

Drakes, D.R., Mooney, M. (2008). Profiles of Latino Adaptation at Elite Colleges and Universities. American Journal of Community Psychology 42 (1), 1-16. from Google Scholar.

(2008). Educating the Largest Minority Group. The Chronicle 50 (14). from The Chronicle Review