If you’re a talented Latino or minority student, and NASA’s space program has always fascinated you, there are ways to gain internships and scholarships at NASA and forge careers there. In fact, NASA is dedicated to attracting a wide range of talented minority candidates whose interests align with NASA’s mission and goals.
Carlos Montero begins his chemistry class with a question like, “What do you think is going to happen if you put a piece of iron metal in a solution of copper chloride?” His high school students ponder the answer. Some try out a hypothesis. Others stay quiet. Montero and his students then test the situation. He asks students to explain the results of the test. They get into groups, sometimes drawing out answers on their portable white boards. A discussion ensues.
David Dow, a distinguished professor at the University of Houston Law Center and founder of the Texas Innocence Network, which represents death-sentenced inmates, is spear-heading two new programs: one involving mentoring at-risk middle school students and the other focuses on sealing juvenile offenders’ records. Though each of these programs is run separately, Dow, a Houston, Texas, native and Yale Law School graduate, said “At some point we intend to fold the three different programs into one corporate umbrella.”
Law School enrollment has seen a consistent decline since 2010 when the nation experienced an all time high in the number of students attending. According to the American Bar Association, enrollment has dropped for four consecutive years since 2010 with a seven percent drop from 2013 to 2014 and an 18.5 percent decrease in enrollment from 2010 to today.
Pedro Rivera, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education, is a humble, down to earth individual. So humble, in fact, that when Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf nominated him to be the commonwealth’s Acting Education Secretary back in January, his response was, “Are you sure?”
Last month The University of Washington Board of Regents chose Ana Mari Cauce to be the school's next president, making her the first woman, first openly gay person and first Latina to hold the job permanently at the Seattle-based institution.
Hispanic Outlook from its very inception has worked to open college doors for Hispanics. There has been considerable progress but the battle is far from won. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage achievements, let’s explore this in more depth.
The educational pipeline often refers to the outreach K-12 schools perform to better prepare Latino students to transition into college. Once through that pipeline, however, what awaits them on the college side is a limited number of Latinos/as in administrative positions who might better understand their needs.
The University of Miami has a new leader, which also happens to be the university’s first Hispanic president. Dr. Julio Frenk, previously the Dean of Faculty at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Mexico's former Minister of Health, succeeded Donna E. Shalala who had led the University of Miami since 2001 and served under former President Bill Clinton as the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month would not be complete without a nod to this group of very important Hispanic artists, athletes, politicians, activists and professionals. Their efforts over the years have helped raise the consciousness of a nation and the world about the contributions of Hispanics and the challenges Hispanics have faced as they are woven into the American tapestry of tradition and values. They are truly Hispanics you want to know.
The political importance of securing an ethnic voting bloc has played and will continue to play an important role in our political electoral history. Very few Americans understand the current Hispanic-changing demographic trends, its implications, political importance and their electoral votes. This vote not only became a political weapon in 2012, but in 2016, the Hispanic vote will dictate who will become the future leader of the free world. The 2016 Presidential election has slowly but surely developed into a debate on the politics of immigration reform and the courting of Hispanic electoral votes. Never in American electoral history has an ethnic group become such an important part of the American electoral process that the future American president will be determined by its electorate. Despite this importance, central to the debates is comprehensive immigration reform, the politics of race and the political impact of the new Americans or those we often refer to as undocumented immigrants.
An overwhelming majority of Americans continue to believe that having a certificate or degree beyond high school is important to our success as a nation and as individuals. But, according to results from a recent Gallup-Lumina Foundation Poll on Higher Education, Hispanics and African-Americans believe most strongly in the power of postsecondary education to help deliver good jobs and a better quality of life. In addition, Hispanics are more optimistic than other groups that this type of education is available and affordable to all.
I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I just never realized that my true passion would lie in serving my Latino community. As I sit on the brink of a new career, PhD in hand, constantly looking for ways to make education more equitable for Latinos, I find it necessary to reflect on how I’ve come to be here today. As an undergraduate student in teacher education, I soon discovered that I not only wanted to be an educator, but I wanted to serve a specific population of students – Latino students – that I felt were being mistreated by an education system that did not value our unique needs and contributions. I became that idealistic teacher who would make a difference for Latino students everywhere!
When studies are conducted about what professions will be in high demand in the future, health care tops most lists. It makes sense that Hispanic health care workers would be a significant part of that demand, but until now no empirical evidence existed that measured Hispanic health care needs of the present and future. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken a closer look at how to provide medical services to a burgeoning Latino population. The schools on our top 25 list conferring the most healthcare related degrees to Hispanics are important to fulfilling the health care needs to this growing demographic. Here is the CDC’s summary of their report.
San Antonio, Chicago, and Los Angeles all come to mind when one thinks of large Hispanic populations. Greenville, South Carolina - not so much. But as it turns out, Greenville has a significant Hispanic population that has grown considerably since the last census.
