CSU Dominguez Hills Focuses on Latino Education, Provides Role Models for First-Generation Students

Last month, California State University, Dominguez Hills highlighted its stature as a trend-setting Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) with two events that marked a historic level of importance in the Latino community. On Aug. 8, a gathering of students, faculty and members of the community viewed the swearing-in of Chief Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to hold the office. The event, which was held in the Extended and International Education Auditorium was co-hosted by the nonprofit Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE). The organization, which has held its Youth Leadership through Literacy Program graduation at CSU Dominguez Hills in past years, shares the university’s mission of educating and increasing Latina graduation rates and empowering them for careers in leadership.

“To watch a new justice being sworn in to the highest court of the land is a rare occasion to watch,” said David Gamboa, director of Government and Community Relations at CSU Dominguez Hills. “But to be a part of a gathering to witness the first female Hispanic Supreme Court justice taking the oath was historic because it provided the sense that this county truly is the land of opportunity for all.”

The event was featured on local television networks, including KABC as well as on nationally on NBC Nightly News.

Later in the month, the university was selected by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans to host a “Community Conversation.” The two-session meeting was attended by students, parents, educators and community leaders to discuss issues affecting educational success among Latino students with White House Initiative Executive Director Juan Sepúlveda. Members of the White House Initiative office staff traveled the nation this summer presenting the Community Conversations in an effort to help shape the direction of the initiative and create the foundation of the new executive order to be signed by President Barack Obama that will govern the office. More than 150 participants in the Community Conversations formed small groups and were posed the questions, “How can Latino education be improved?” “What should the White House Initiative be doing to spearhead those efforts?”

“The community had the unique opportunity to voice their opinion on an urgent matter that can result in future legislation that will affect the education system for every student in this nation,” said Gamboa of the meetings. “They were not only heard, but were a part of the process.”

Michelle Waiters, director of the McNair Scholars Program, attended the afternoon session before welcoming the new 2009-10 cohort of students that evening at their annual reception.

A longtime professional advocate for first-generation college students, Waiters looked forward to learning more about “culturally sensitive programs to help students aspire to the next level.” She said that students from Latino families whose parents had not attended college often feel guilty about continuing to graduate school when they are expected to begin supporting their families after earning a bachelor’s degree.

“My students in California have been very reluctant to study throughout the country where there are a lot of research opportunities,” she said. “Initiatives like this help [students] understand the fuller picture. This is a chance for them to see that they can give so much more to their families and be the person in the family that shows the younger brothers and sisters and cousins how they can start preparing to go on to the highest levels of education.”

This semester, a new program, the African American and Latino Male Success Initiative (AALMS) will be launched by Dr. William Franklin, associate vice president of Student Success Services and Dr. Mark López, executive assistant to President Mildred García. Working in collaboration with schools and families in South Bay and South Los Angeles, AALMS will create a college-bound culture among African American and Latino communities and close the enrollment gap between young males and the predominantly female college-bound youth of these populations. AALMS will provide a complement to the Sisters United and Latinas Juntas programs presented by the Office of Student Development.

Waiters said that continuing efforts to groom Latino students for college and eventually, graduate school will ensure more representation within the university.

“It’s very important to make some strides to have more Latinos represented at faculty levels in the way that we see the [Latino] population growing,” she said. “Programs like McNair and MBRS (Minority Biomedical Research Support) do a really good job in preparing students to enter [research] programs successfully to be the faculty of the future.”

- Joanie Harmon