Spring Break
University encourages Hispanic enrollment
AMANDA WOODRUFF
Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: News
University students took recruitment efforts for college-bound Hispanic students into their own hands over the weekend.
Movimiento Latino, a new initiative started by the Office of the Institutional Diversity, enlisted more than 25 Hispanic students from seven organizations to host a group of Hispanic students accepted to the University.
Hosts offered their dormitories and free time to show participants "a day in the life of a college student," a host said.
"We were with them all day," Angela Zapata, a senior from Colombia, said.
Five high school students participated in the program, Zapata said.
Friday and Saturday, the students toured the campus, heard from guest speakers and had a first-hand experience of college life by attending classes with their hosts.
The program was modeled after the success of Georgia Daze, a recruitment effort initiated in 2005 for black high school students already accepted into the University.
"They're working toward the same goal," Zapata said of the two recruitment programs.
"Movimiento Latino is not just about diversity," she said. "It's the fact that we don't have that many Hispanic students applying to college."
The University enrolled 550 Hispanic students in 2007, according to the fact book. They are the third-smallest minority.
Each participant was a first generation college student, Zapata said, and they faced similar obstacles in obtaining accurate and helpful information about higher education.
"A lot of Hispanic students have problems financially," she said. "You know, a lot of people aren't aware of the opportunities we have ... There's aid out there people aren't using."
Though other students may rely on parents for college tips, Hispanic families from cultures different from the U.S. receive information from high schools that often is miscommunicated, she said.
"We really had an impact on [the students]," Adrianna Samaniego, a sophomore from Buford, said. Of the five participants, four left the program intending to enroll next year, she said.
"I think we accomplished what we wanted to do," she said. "We didn't get as many kids as we would have liked, but it was a starting program."
"We're trying to build here at UGA. I think Movimiento Latino is a great beginning," she said.
The program "definitely" will continue in coming years, Zapata said, though it will do so with some improvements.
Movimiento Latino, a new initiative started by the Office of the Institutional Diversity, enlisted more than 25 Hispanic students from seven organizations to host a group of Hispanic students accepted to the University.
Hosts offered their dormitories and free time to show participants "a day in the life of a college student," a host said.
"We were with them all day," Angela Zapata, a senior from Colombia, said.
Five high school students participated in the program, Zapata said.
Friday and Saturday, the students toured the campus, heard from guest speakers and had a first-hand experience of college life by attending classes with their hosts.
The program was modeled after the success of Georgia Daze, a recruitment effort initiated in 2005 for black high school students already accepted into the University.
"They're working toward the same goal," Zapata said of the two recruitment programs.
"Movimiento Latino is not just about diversity," she said. "It's the fact that we don't have that many Hispanic students applying to college."
The University enrolled 550 Hispanic students in 2007, according to the fact book. They are the third-smallest minority.
Each participant was a first generation college student, Zapata said, and they faced similar obstacles in obtaining accurate and helpful information about higher education.
"A lot of Hispanic students have problems financially," she said. "You know, a lot of people aren't aware of the opportunities we have ... There's aid out there people aren't using."
Though other students may rely on parents for college tips, Hispanic families from cultures different from the U.S. receive information from high schools that often is miscommunicated, she said.
"We really had an impact on [the students]," Adrianna Samaniego, a sophomore from Buford, said. Of the five participants, four left the program intending to enroll next year, she said.
"I think we accomplished what we wanted to do," she said. "We didn't get as many kids as we would have liked, but it was a starting program."
"We're trying to build here at UGA. I think Movimiento Latino is a great beginning," she said.
The program "definitely" will continue in coming years, Zapata said, though it will do so with some improvements.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Dee
posted 4/23/09 @ 8:14 AM EST
It's great to see Latino students reaching out and helping other Latinos. We're underrepresented at most universities and this type of student involvement can truly make a difference. (Continued…)
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