黑料福利社

So, what do you want to do when you graduate?

It鈥檚 the ultimate daunting question for a high school student that leaves one with a feeling of uneasiness regardless of the answer. It鈥檚 an unavoidable question in daily life that takes center stage during family reunions. Even wanting to go to college introduces unique hurdles for our students as they navigate the complexities of the admissions process.

However, early mentors provide the guiding hands that give students the serenity that they are not embarking on their journey alone. Whether it鈥檚 a teacher, coach or counselor, mentors are the catalysts between what a student is interested in and a path toward answering what they want to do after graduation.

Early mentorship holds particular significance within underrepresented communities like the Latino population. During a conversation with Mark Anthony Figueroa, a former teacher and high school soccer coach, it became evident that Latinos face significant obstacles to reaching their definition of success.

鈥淭he community doesn鈥檛 have a lot of the resources at home when it comes to understanding what the college process looks like or answers to other programs beyond high school. We can鈥檛 go home and ask our parents simply because a lot of them haven鈥檛 undergone that experience themselves,鈥� the Yakima native explained, recalling his own experience as a first-generation college student.

He isn鈥檛 alone, either. Hispanic individuals stand out as the leading group of first-generation college students, with over 44% being pioneers in their families to pursue higher education.

While we should celebrate this as a victory for Latino students, this high uptick in first-generation college applications is their biggest barrier. Without their parents as a reference point, they simply do not know the possibilities, making mentors vital to fill in the disconnect.

Mentors fulfill this role by acting as facilitators of opportunities. They open doors to post-graduate possibilities, unravel student loan access, and guide students toward taking advanced placement courses. Through these introductions, early mentorship becomes a powerful force in addressing one of the greatest challenges faced by the Latino community: the persistently low rates of college enrollment.

Since the pandemic, the Latino community saw a significant decrease in enrollment while the non-Hispanic increased. Even more concerning, high schools with a higher minority population have a 10% lower enrollment rate than low-minority high schools nationwide.

Washington is not immune to these issues as they have low college enrollment rates after high school graduation. However, a closer look at the data shows a massive drop in the already below-national-average college enrollment in school districts with a high Latino population.

For example, in Yakima County 52.6% of the population is Hispanic, with a 41% college enrollment rate 鈥� a 9-point drop from the statewide average.

These low numbers aren鈥檛 due to inability, but lack of access. To Figueroa, this is a plea to expand mentorship opportunities.

鈥淎s educators, we have to get you to understand that you鈥檙e not the only one. And I think that鈥檚 what really closes a lot of our students is that they feel that they鈥檙e the only one undergoing these struggles and don鈥檛 go and ask for help,鈥� he said. He sees mentors as anchors who have gone through these struggles themselves. Creating spaces where mentors can create that cultural connection and understand where the students come from can impact a student鈥檚 decision to attend college.

Investing in early mentorship not only unlocks academic opportunities but also promotes the leaders of tomorrow. Early mentors can introduce students to mentorship opportunities outside the classroom, giving access to career development that level the playing field for underrepresented students. These opportunities can be as simple as volunteering with local civic engagement organizations, which offer invaluable mentorship opportunities by connecting individuals with experienced community leaders.

These opportunities add another level of introduction to the professional world that Latino students need help accessing. Nurturing leadership skills and equipping them with the necessary tools to become future leaders in their communities paves the way for brighter professional futures, especially in fields where they are unrepresented.