By Beatriz Bea Palmer
According to Excelencia in Education, as of fall 2020, 48% of women attending a Hispanic Serving Institution of higher education are Latinas, and we make up two-thirds of the student population at these universities.
Even though we are completing degrees at higher rate than male Latinos, we still have room for growth, because only 29% of us have completed an associate or higher degree. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2018–2019, Latinas held 15.7% of bachelor’s degrees, 11.6% of master’s degrees, and only 8.8% of doctoral degrees.
We need more of us to apply for school and mentor other hermanas so they can help get these statistics up.
We can’t do this alone; we need each other! I am so humbled and proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and applying for the master’s and then the doctoral degree. I am happy to report I finished the master’s in sociology from Arizona State University two years ago, during the pandemic, and I applied to the doctoral program at San Diego State University. I was one of 12 who was accepted! It’s also exciting because, to my surprise, about 60% of candidates in the program are Latinos! We are about to change our communities and the education system. ¡Pa’latne!
Beatriz’s tips for success for college students
Find a mentor “that will pour into them, that will connect them with other people.”
Volunteer in community engagement and internships because it’s harder to do once you finish school. Use federal work study dollars to get paid and start developing skills and include volunteer hours on your résumés.
Education does not necessarily make you rich. Learn about financial literacy, school debt, and community college, where the first two years of higher education can be free.
Tap into local community colleges. They offer free classes, certificate classes, such as computers, English as a Second Language, even volunteerism. “There’s a path for everyone,” Bea said, for recent high school graduates, “all the way to the abuelitas.”
MiraCosta College can help students looking for that path. “We’re here to serve you,” said Bea. “We’re a Hispanic-serving Institution. If there’s anyone looking for where to start, I would say, start here.”
