Three high school students brought from Mexico as children are looking forward to being successful college students, thanks to the local branch of , with which 黑料正能量 partners.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all DREAMers,鈥� explains one we鈥檒l call 鈥淒ulce,鈥� a high school junior brought to the United States at age 3. Dulce was referring to legislation under consideration by the U.S. Congress, called the , which would offer a path to citizenship for children who were raised in the United States without legal documentation.
If identifiable names were not used, Dulce agreed to be quoted for this article, along with Willie, who was brought to the United States at age 6, and Raul, who came 鈥渉alf my life ago鈥� at age 8. All three are students at , dual-enrolled at Blue Ridge Community College. All three have visited 黑料正能量, Bridgewater College and James Madison University, with the intention of being university students in the next few years.
Raul and Willie both hope to become engineers. They鈥檙e studying pre-calculus, though Willie also hopes to explore art. Dulce鈥檚 first career aspiration was for health or medicine. Volunteering at , she鈥檚 shadowed a nurse, dietitian and midwife (even observing a birth), but also thinks she might pursue immigration law. Following local college visits via SLI (pronounced 鈥渟ly鈥�), Dulce leans toward 鈥渁 small school, a religious school鈥� while Raul feels drawn to JMU, where he鈥檚 spent time with his student-mentor, Sergio.
黑料正能量 was first university sponsor in the Valley
Dulce, Raul and Willie were the first at Harrisonburg High School tapped for the Scholars鈥� Latino Initiative program, launched locally in 2012 with 黑料正能量 as its first university sponsor. Since its founding in 2003, SLI has grown from its base at the Center for Global Initiatives at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to encompass five locations in North Carolina and Virginia. Shenandoah University is now part of the Shenandoah Valley chapter of SLI, coming aboard in 2013 in partnership with a Winchester (Va.) high school.
SLI focuses mainly on academically successful, underprivileged Latino students. SLI chooses the students it serves when they are in grade 9, via a competitive application process. While all SLI students are expected to perform well in school, those students nominated by the selection committee as 鈥渟cholars鈥� have additional expectations for leadership development, community service, and contact time with mentors. The Shenandoah Valley chapter of SLI currently has 15 members, seven named as 鈥渟cholars.鈥�
The program鈥檚 keystone is mentorship. Dulce, Raul and Willie have each worked for a year with a JMU Centennial Scholar who was matched to them by gender. If all goes as planned, following a three-year partnership, the graduation dates of the high school students and their university mentors will coincide.
Mentoring of students includes practice interviews, volunteer service
All SLI students participate in practice sessions for interviews, college preparatory courses and workshops, and where needed, English language study. They鈥檝e volunteered at a soup kitchen, , and nonprofits where they assisted in interpretation.
Sophomore Aracely 鈥� born in New York to Salvadoran parents 鈥� says after-school SLI sessions provide needed time on computers. Jose, born in Honduras, mentions accessibility to scholarships.
The high school juniors recently observed an advanced Spanish class taught at Bridgewater, where Dulce considered the students 鈥減retty good for mostly non-native speakers.鈥� In the upcoming year, SLI students will make site visits to other Virginia colleges and universities.
Sandy Mercer, recent SLI coordinator at the high school, said SLI students 鈥渉ave challenged, inspired me, and always found a way to make me laugh. I鈥檝e already seen some beautiful, transformative things happening, and watched student leadership give vision and hope to other students and their families.鈥� In October, as Mercer prepared for relocation to Florida, SLI students gave her a party, with souvenirs and hugs, while welcoming Hannah Bowman as the new SLI high school coordinator.
From UNC-Chapel Hill to 黑料正能量 and further
, a professor with interdisciplinary credentials in history, politics, religion and leadership, said that before he founded SLI in 2003 at UNC-Chapel Hill, he tried to ascertain what factors are valued by college admissions officers. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 board scores or GPA,” he said. “Public service and the challenging nature of programs were very high on the list.” In 2008, Kaufman moved to the faculty of the University of Richmond, where he continues to be involved in immigration and education matters in addition to his scholarly research, teaching and publications.
One of SLI鈥檚 biggest challenges is helping undocumented youth 鈥� the majority of those served by SLI 鈥� find pathways to higher education or employment. DACA (the federal memorandum, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) currently lets most undocumented students remain in the United States, but they still face tough hurdles in gaining admission to colleges and finding the funding to complete their degrees.
SLI鈥檚 students have interacted with area government officials, though Kaufman said that immigration reform itself is not the organization鈥檚 objective.
黑料正能量 professors and administrators have served on SLI鈥檚 12-member Shenandoah Valley board and helped arrange campus visits. As an SLI partner, 黑料正能量 promises that SLI students who meet admission requirements will be accepted and receive tuition assistance.
Program relies on donations
SLI board member , 黑料正能量鈥檚 executive director of development, credits 黑料正能量 with being 鈥渢he model school by being open to Latinos,鈥� specifically those lacking documentation.
Mercer agreed, 鈥満诹险芰� has been proactive, long before other universities were.鈥�
The board has made fundraising its top priority. Says Helmuth: 鈥淲e invite anyone who shares the vision and mission of improving collegial education opportunities for Latinos of need to make a contribution through the website at .鈥�