IU Newsroom - Student launches new chapter of PATHE to increase college enrollment among Latinos

IU student launches new chapter of PATHE to increase college enrollment among Latinos

Growing up in Elkhart, Ind., Cesar Escovar never doubted that he'd eventually go to college. A first-generation American whose family came to the United States from the Dominican Republic, Escovar was the son of two doctors who instilled in him a clear understanding of the importance of higher education.

His perspective seemed unique among the Latino high school students in his acquaintance, however; Escovar noticed that while some of his peers applied for college, many didn't even consider it as an option.

"Only about 49 percent of Latinos graduate from high school and just 7 percent go to college," said Escovar, who today is a political science, economics and Spanish major at Indiana University and hopes to attend law school one day.

Cesar Escovar

As an IU student, the Hudson and Holland Scholar noted the relatively small number of Latino students represented in IU's undergraduate population. He decided to take tangible action by implementing the program Providing Access to Higher Education (PATHE), his fraternity's national philanthropy event at IU. This program will support Latino high school students from across the state to pursue higher education through mentoring and campus visits, as well as assistance with the details of applying to college

While PATHE is based in the IU chapter of the nine-member Latino fraternity Lambda Upsilon Lambda (Escovar is president of the fraternity, which is also known as "La Unidad Latina") and is the fraternity's national philanthropy program, Escovar hopes IU students from an array of disciplines and ethnic groups will be recruited as volunteers as the project expands.

Escovar spent his 2009 spring break visiting Indiana high schools with heavy Latino populations. "One thing that disappointed me is that 90-95 percent of the students I talked to didn't have information on college applications, didn't know about FAFSA . . . I wanted to share that information. I'm adamant about making sure this program happens and that it will help them."

Pierre Perez is a member of Lambda Upsilon Lambda and a senior voice performance major in the IU Jacobs School of Music who is working closely with Escovar on PATHE. A first-generation college student among his immediate family (many in his extended family are nurses), Perez knows how hard it can be for teens to navigate the forms and required information necessary for applying to college. When he visited an Indianapolis high school over spring break, Perez was disheartened to learn how little the students knew about the college application process.

"There are a lot of students out there who want the help -- and a lot of students who don't have any idea how to get to college. I think that's why I'm so passionate about it. Most of us come from areas where going to college isn't necessarily what people do after high school," Perez said. "We want to get to as many kids as possible and show them that they have a network they can use."

Pierre Perez

On Oct. 22-23, PATHE will bring up to 300 Latino students from across the state to IU to spend time on campus and attend seminars about scholarships, leadership, financial aid and the college application process -- whether they choose IU or another school.

"We're going to bring them down to show them what IU can offer, but more important is to provide them with the ability to get to college at all," Escovar said.

Sarah Booher, director for the Office of Scholarships at IU, said the most powerful aspect of the PATHE program is that it is completely student coordinated. "Cesar's passion for increasing the college-bound Latino student population is truly inspirational," Booher said. "The initiative he has taken, and what he is accomplishing, is an example of what dedicated students can accomplish on our campus. I have no doubt that this program will be a great success, and we are thrilled to support the PATHE program, as well as Cesar as one of the student leaders on our Scholarship Advisory Committee."

"It's about creating a dialogue," said Bruce Jacobs, executive director of the IMU/Auditorium and executive officer of Auxiliary Services and Programs, who is among many IU leaders offering his support to PATHE. "The question needs to change from 'Are you going to college?' to 'Where are you going to college?' And someone has to start that conversation."

Jacobs said that in typical IU fashion, he knew support for this program would come from all across the campus, and it has -- from La Casa, IU's Latin culture center, to the Office of Scholarships to the residence halls that will house students overnight during the October visit. The Bloomington community is also pitching in, with the Convention and Visitors Bureau providing local hotel rooms for advisors traveling with the students, said Jacobs.

"I think this is what we ought to be doing," he said. "We ought to find a way we can to reach out to folks who can benefit from higher education who don't necessarily see this as a next step."

Escovar knows that making PATHE a success will be a challenge, but it's a challenge he's willing to take. Heading into the fall semester, he hopes to pair IU volunteers with groups of Latino high school students, with whom they will maintain contact throughout the year. "Our goal is to mentor these students as they're applying for college and provide them with a one-on-one connection, friendship . . . to be there for them in whatever capacity they need."

Originally published in: http://info.iu.edu/news/page/normal/11486.html