Hispanic education on the rise

Jacqueline Peraza | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Natali Hernandez, a mass communication senior, said she views her parents’ encouragement and their college degrees displayed at her home as a motivating factor for continuing her education. 

Asked why Hernandez decided to continue her education, she replied, “My parents both have a college degree so it was, kind of, an [unwritten] rule that I go to college, but it was something that I looked forward to as well. I didn’t want to go into the field and start working at the age of 18. … I knew if I wanted to live comfortably and have a nice job with a nice house at a young age, at 22, hopefully, college was going to be the route for me.”

The National Center for Education Statistics reported the status dropout rate declined for Hispanic 16- to 24-year-olds from 21% in 2006 to 8% in 2018.

Ana Peña-Oliva, a lecturer of Hispanic linguistics and undergraduate Spanish program degree specialist, said one of the reasons why the dropout rate is decreasing could be because of the shift in the type of immigrants coming to the United States.

“Before, a lot of the immigrants that came to the United States were a lot of farm workers or old skilled workers,” Peña-Oliva said. “Now, the immigration has changed. A lot of the immigrants that come to the United States are professionals that have [received] a college education in their country.”

She said the people immigrating to the United States understand and believe in the importance of education, so they pass on that knowledge to their children. 

“They support the children by providing financial help and they support them because they have gone to college so they are able to assist their children while they are doing homework,” Peña-Oliva said. “In other words, they help them remove the obstacles that they will have if they don’t understand how to do an assignment. That makes a big difference. Then again, because they are professionals with a college education they want to make sure that the children do it, too. That is why they support them and they make sure that they not only don’t drop out from high school but continue their studies in college.”

According to the NCES, “from fall 1976 to fall 2017, the percentage of Hispanic students rose from 4% to 19% of all U.S. residents enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions.”

Asked why she believes more Hispanics are enrolling in universities, Peña-Oliva replied, receiving a college education is the key to success and parents know that.

“They push the children to further their education by acquiring a college degree,” she said.

Hernandez said she believes the reason for the decrease in dropout rate and increase in enrollment can be tied to the rise of resources high schools offer students and easier access to technology.

“When I was in high school, they had this place called the GO Center and they hired somebody from a university and they would come and help us with our college applications, and they would enroll us in Dual Enrollment classes,” she said. “I know that helped a lot of students get information when I was in high school. And the technology we have now, our phones give us a lot of access to information that makes it easier to gain an education.”

Hernandez said attending college as an undergraduate student was hard on her mental health at times but her outlook on continuing her education, even in the midst of a pandemic, has changed.

“As a senior, I’ve learned to enjoy my classes,” Hernandez said. “Especially, now, in this pandemic, it’s the one thing that motivates me to get up early in the morning, to walk outside, to do my homework, to talk to my fellow classmates and my friends who I have for classes. It gives me something to look forward to.” 

Peña-Oliva said Hispanic students today recognize the importance of education, come well-informed and prepared to college from high school, and have the full support of their parents.

“If the parents believe in education, they are going to push the children to study,” she said. “So, [from] very young in life they are going to understand the value of education.”

Asked for whom she is continuing her education, Hernandez replied for her paternal grandmother.

“I’m continuing my education so she can say she has a grandchild who has a college degree,” she said. “I mean, she has three other grandchildren who have a college degree but I just want to keep adding to her list. She really made an impact on my life and this is the way I can repay her for everything she’s done for me.”

Two other people Hernandez said she is pursuing a degree for are both her parents.

“My mom, she’s a warrior,” she said. “She’s gone through so much in life, and she has a master’s degree and I watched her take her online classes from Sam Houston State University. I see her degrees on our living room walls and I’m like, ‘Wow, I want one of those.’ My dad as well, he went to Texas State [University]. I see his degrees as well and he’s just always taught me, ‘Whatever you want to do in life, go and get it, and don’t be afraid of asking for help.’”

Hernandez said college is a rewarding experience and students should not give up.

“College, it may be hard, and it’s a struggle to get through it …  but at the very end it’s rewarding and nobody should give up,” she said. “It’s kind of a way to stay young.”