Emily's Back Home!

We are finally back home! It was a amazing trip, my first time in a plane. My fist time in Washington. It is a life changing experience. We went to so many places: Lincoln Memorial, The White House, The executive office, The Holocaust Museum, Capitol Hill, U.S. Department of Treasure, etc. My favorite so far was Lincoln Memorial.
The HACU conference was awesome, it informed me about laws in regards of education, and the importance of let our representatives know the value of their support.

Ariana's Tuesday, April 2

Our last day in Washington DC consisted of multiple appointments with our states’ representative as well as senates. However before attending the meetings, we were introduced to a few presentations for a final preparation.  One  of the presentations given byArturo highleted the importance of an accurate Census report. Unfortunately, Hispanics and college students are often miscaluculated and there may be a few reasons for that. A possibility may be that they are reported on their census filled out back home and they also report themselves when they receive the census survey at their college residence.  It is very significant for the census to be as accurate as possible so that we can base ourselves off of true data and realize what people need assistance and even find some correlations.
As for the meetings with our representatives, I believe I can speak on behalf of the rest of my peers when I express the immense gratitude I have for this entire experience. As silly as it may sound, today’s events brought a sense of reality to me and realized that the senators and representatives are actual pictures not only figures to our states.They have the power to influence change and accommodations for the greater good and I am please to have taken a part of today’s participation. Their responses and approaches flourished with admirable public speaking skills and an intellectual manner of communication. They expressed their thoughts and support toward topics we felt need more awareness and change. Today will truly be a memorable one for me. We appreciate everybody’s time and effort that helped make this experience possible.

Neeila's Post

Today was my last day at this amazing place. Having the opportunity to meet with the representatives of my state was very significant for me. Yes, I understand that the power to change this country doesn’t relied on me, but, I do have the power to plant a seed that would lead to future roots and positivity.

Emily's Day 3: Capital Hill

 

 

 

Our last day in DC. We had a full day of conferences and meetings at the Capitol. I was really nervous, I did not what to expect. After so many weeks preparing our topics to talk with our representatives of Arizona and cochise county the day finally came. We were able to talk with Ana Kirkpatrick, she is really supportive with HSI, STEM, and any other education topic. Also, we went to Raul Grijalva office. Unfortunately, he was not there. However, one of his representatives on the education sector received us. We shared our point of views and request about education and youth. They informed us that Mr. Grijalva is part of HSI and is one of the biggest supporters. The meetings went great! I loved the professional and supportive environment ! 

 

 

 

 

 

Arianna'sTuesday, April 1

This morning we attended the first day of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) 24th Annual National Capital Forum on Hispanic Education. As a group, we met diverse people from across the country such as Tennessee and Michigan. We shared each other's existing hispanic/latino-related clubs at our institutions. An opportunity arose to share our personal experiences living at border cities which led to a successful and flowing conversation. It was a great experience to learn from each other while also referencing current events. During multiple presentations by guest panelists, we were constantly reminded of the immense increase of hispanic higher education enrollment. A few issues mentioned had to do with higher education, retention, and pell grant funding. The responses given by panelists showed sincerity as they explained why some processes take longer than others and where the complications come from. A few sessions later, we reviewed our topics for our appointments scheduled tomorrow.  For dinner we met with Melody Buckner, along with two very kind ladies from main campus.

Neeila's Post

Having the opportunity to learn, grow, and get inspired are some of the best feeling I can have. Today, during the given conferences those feelings were accomplished. Definitely one of my best experiences ever. Thank you for letting me continue feeding my hunger for higher education; for personal inspiration and motivation.

Emily's HACU: Resident tuition ?

Today was an extremely productive day. It was interesting to view the quantative data of Hispanics in the US graduating and pursuing higher education and goals, which makes my chest rejoice in pride. For instance, today we had the opportunity of meeting Hector Galvan, he is program manager and adviser at the University of Michigan. They have a program called SCOPE (Student Community of Progressive empowerment) where DACA students receive assistance at paying their tuition. The question is, How is it work? Due to obvious circumstances DACA students are unable to get resident tuition. However, this private program covers the difference berreen non-resident and resident tuition without getting penalized by any laws or regulations. A great example is the following, Non-resident tuition is 1,300 and resident averages 5,000. 1,300-5000=8,000 paid by this program. Allowing students to cover only 5,000 as if there were residents of the state. Is that not amazing?