Why are we falling behind?

The Hispanic culture is very distinctive and it is gifted with great values that make it special and unique. Among these values is family, respect for the elderly, the value of working hard to achieve specific goals, honesty and integrity, and one that is extremely important, EDUCATION.

Education is extremely important in our culture. Education is what we receive first from our family, where we learn to respect others, to obey our parents, we learn the value of what we have and we learn what is right and what is wrong. Then, we grow up and we receive a different kind of education, an academic education that will help us realize ourselves as human beings.

But the reality is a crude one for our community when it comes to education. According to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center, in the last few years, only 63% of Hispanic youth (25-29) were High School graduates. And only 1 in 10 Hispanic young people had a college degree. Only 33% of Latinos (18-24) are enrolled in school, the dropout rates of Hispanic youth are at an all time high, and when we look at Hispanic children we find that there is a huge gap in reading and math compared to other ethnicities.

How do you feel about these statistics and where do you fall?
These figures paint a very challenging future for our community. Our jóvenes are not preparing themselves for the future challenges that life will bring. We are not finding the ways to get a college education, we are looking in the wrong places, we cannot find the support we need, or we decidedly make a choice to not educate ourselves.

A great number of our Hispanic youth are first generation faced with the challenge of going to college. Education is one of the most, if not the most important commitment that you will make in your life. It is very likely that our parents have little academic education or never went to school, and as much as they love us, they may not have the information or understand how to help us.

So what are your challenges? Whatever they are, you are not alone, and the good news is that there are people out there waiting and looking to help you.

If you are struggling to find information about how to apply for college, talk to your counselor at school, search for information on the internet, talk to your friends or to older young people at your church, visit community organizations, or go directly to the University or College office and ask for information. The important thing is for you to find a way to get that information.
If your challenge is finding financial help, make sure you research scholarships and federal student aid. There is federal financial aid through FAFSA, and there are scholarships for Hispanics at places like Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Again, talk to people who have gone through this. When it comes to your education, you cannot afford to be shy.

Getting an education is not easy, and it certainly is not inexpensive. It takes a lot of work and a great commitment on our part, but the results are well worth it. Dare yourself to dream about what you want to be, where you want to go, what you want to have, and challenge yourself to reach that dream. Dare to be part of the statistic of the Hispanics with a college education, and not another number on the dropout rate.

Is this challenge good enough for you?