The surge in the U.S. Hispanic population is paralleled by an increase in the number of Hispanics in higher education.  Accounting for just 4 percent of college students in 1980, Hispanics represented 10 percent of the enrollment in higher education in 2000.  By that year, Hispanics made up 14 percent of students in 2-year colleges (Llagas and Snyder, 2003).

While there is an increase in Hispanic participation in higher education, issues persist. Over 50 percent of Hispanic college students study in California and Texas, leaving a lesser presence nationwide.  A disproportionately-high number of Hispanics attend college part-time and work full-time to support their families (Brown and Santiago, 2003).

One major study finds that "Hispanics lag behind all other racial/ethnic groups in the rate at which they earn a bachelor's degree.  After doubling this rate over the 1970-1990 time period, Hispanics have made no further progress.  In 1998, 10 percent of Hispanics aged 25 to 29 held a bachelor's degree, compared with 32 percent of non-Hispanic whites.  This is a difference of 22 percentage points, the largest gap in the last 30 years" (Vernez and Mizell, 2001).

Another major statistical study concludes that "the long-term influence of family income and family background," including "parental education," that determines college entry. "Family income matters but its greatest influence is on forming the ability and college-readiness of children and not in financing college."  In fact, "controlling for family background, minorities are more likely than Whites to graduate high school and attend college" (Cameron and Heckman, 1999).

The current Hispanic dropout rate is 30 percent, in large measure due to the widespread immigration from Mexico of minimally-educated job-seekers. Almost 40 percent of 16 to 19 year old Mexican immigrants, with little or no experience in US schools, are counted as dropouts. The more meaningful dropout rate of nonimmigrant Hispanics is 14 percent. (Fry, 2003).               

Small-town Dalton and the College are participating in the current shifts propelling the nation into increasing socio-economic diversity. The siren call of boom-town factory jobs, in contrast to the economic and educational limitations in Latin America, has resulted in the relocation of thousands of Hispanic, and especially Mexican, families in Dalton (Millman and Pinkston, 2001).

If Hispanics are newcomers to Dalton, Georgia, their appearance is even more recent to Dalton State College. As lately as the fall semester of 1994, the five Hispanic students on campus made up a nearly invisible presence within the college’s predominately white, working-class population of about 3,000 students.

Having found good-paying and stable employment in a for-the-most-part benign community, the first Hispanics have quickly called into the area many other members of their extended families. "Many of these diaspora Latinos are school-age children who do not yet speak English fluently," notes Stanton Wortham, professor in the Graduate School of Education in the University of Pennsylvania. "Although rural U.S. educators often work hard to serve Latino diaspora schoolchildren, most rural schools do not provide enough support" (2002).

Younger Hispanic children tend to adapt rather quickly to the less-than-ideal school environments they may find themselves in. The older youth have more to make up in school and less time to accomplish their goals in—and face an even greater language barrier. Little wonder then that many Latin teens have chosen early on to work, without much thought of college.

"The most serious problem of educational nonenrollment occurs among Mexican teenagers, especially those who migrate to the United States after starting school in Mexico," remarks researcher Charles Hirschman.  "Almost half of Mexican-born 5- to 17- year olds who arrived in the United States between 1987 and 1990 are not enrolled in school, nor are almost one-third of those who arrived in the mid-1980s" (2001).

While most adult Latino immigrants have taken on a lifetime of manual labor, some of their children are beginning to entertain other notions. Seeing the downside of their parents’ jobs and at times supported by them, hundreds of the area’s Hispanic youth are now testing out the oft-repeated assertion of their teacher-mentors that The American dream begins with college.

Documented as well as undocumented high school graduates may apply to Dalton State College. Students who cannot prove residency, however, are forced to pay the much higher out-of-state tuition fees. Hispanic students also discover in the College entrance exams that the language bar has again been raised, often to a level beyond their immediate grasp.

The students’ own voices convey the conflict between the immediate security provided by the workaday ethic and the educational investment required for a white-collar career. The students’ struggles also undermine the widespread belief that Hispanic are uninterested in book learning (Valencia and Black, 2002).

"Hey, how much do professors make anyway?" a challenging young Hispanic male student asked me after Advanced ESL class. "I am making over forty thousand as a supervisor in the mill. Is it at least more than that?"

The answer, that educators often start at less than he was already making, seemed to de-motivate the student, who along with most of the class was struggling to write the 50-minute essays required in College Composition. Two weeks later, despite encouragement, the student stopped attending all classes.

In college, Hispanics as well as other second-language and cultural minority students struggle to reconcile two variant life choices: full-time labor or academic English. Many agonize to maintain both options, but in the end find that no one standing on the floor of industry reaches the top of the ivory tower.

The acquisition of academic English, on the one hand, requires commitment to the dominant culture. On the other, participation in full-time manual labor affirms identity in the predominately working class minority culture. Although many individuals attain to a degree of bilingualism and biculturalism, few find it possible to remain equally adept in two worlds. In the end, increased assimilation into the mainstream language and culture reduces participation in the native language and culture. (Baez, 2002).

In the fall of 2002, two hundred and nine Hispanics answered the school bell’s call to academic development and enrolled at Dalton State College. Despite the popular view that Hispanics are Mexicans, only 42 percent of the College’s Hispanic students were Mexican. Other nations of origin for Latino students included El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Venezuela, and Spain. Half of the Hispanic students that year pursued certificates, one third studied toward two-year degrees, and three percent were enrolled in four-year degree programs.

"I studied here right after finishing high school," a young Latina recently reminisced, "but I really couldn’t follow what the professors were saying in class. They used so many words that I didn’t know. Plus, I didn’t know which career to study for, so I just dropped out after a semester."

At age 24, the co-ed is back, and this time with a more serious look to complement her stated plan of becoming a registered nurse. Aspiring to join the seven Latinos already accepted into the Associate of Science in Nursing degree program, the student is working part-time and taking High Intermediate ESL, a math class, and biology.

"I’ve seen what it’s like to work as a nursing assistant," the student reflected, "and now I definitely want a higher position."

Although most immigrant youth can pick up functional English within five or more months, at least five and usually more years of intensive study are required to develop the formal version of the language requisite to college and career success.

Since 1986, the rapid resegregation of public schools, especially in large school districts in the South, has reduced contact between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking students. The process is creating minority schools with "striking inequalities in test scores, graduation rates, courses offered, and college-going rates" (Frankenberg and Lee, 2002).   

The recent shift against affirmative action and race-based college admissions has brought into question the value of diversity education.  A recent study underscores that "diversity introduces the relational discontinuities critical to identity construction and its subsequent role in fostering cognitive growth."  Beyond theory, practical interaction between diverse student populations is key to training students in the interpersonal skills vital to the current workplace (Gurin et al, 2002).

In the 2000-2001, Hispanics became the leading student population in Dalton Public Schools.  Local secondary schools have ESOL courses taught by very dedicated teachers, yet students and teachers alike admit that the environment is not optimal for language learning. Most of the students at Dalton High School, for example, are Hispanic. Despite their teachers' frequent reminders to use English, Latino students often speak Spanish.

"Because there is a large Hispanic community here," one Latina notes, "Hispanic students feel almost a social obligation to speak in Spanish with one another.  Students from other foreign cultures don't have a large community that speaks their language here; therefore, they speak English more and may learn it faster."

From the contact between Spanish and English has emerged Spanglish, the street and home idiom used by 35 million U.S. Hispanics--and the 200,000 readers of Latina magazine. Fully bilingual Hispanics often express logical thoughts in English and emotions in Spanish, but others code switch between the languages to compensate for unknown vocabulary (Artze, 2001).

Vernez and Mizell find that "nearly two-thirds of Hispanic college freshmen reported needing remediation in English," yet only one-third actually took remedial English.  "The result is a high dropout rate in the first year of college, and one that is higher for Hispanics than for non-Hispanic whites."

At Dalton State College, most Latino students test into language-support courses. In the spring semester of 2003, forty percent or 82 of the 201 Hispanic students on campus were enrolled in ESL, remedial English, or remedial reading courses.

"I feel very happy to be studying at Dalton State for more than a year now," a local high school graduate related. "However, because my home and my friends speak Spanish, I face difficulties, especially in writing assignments, in understanding textbooks, and in communicating with professors."

In response to increasing second-language student enrollment, the College first ventured to offer ESL courses in the Fall Semester of 1998. At the time, the 48 Hispanic and 24 Asian students on campus represented an all-time high of 2.4% of the population. (There were an equal percentage of African-American students.) Advanced ESL enrolled 11 students, while 4 other students registered for Intermediate ESL, yielding an initial ESL headcount of 15 students.

In the fall of 1999, there were 57 Hispanics and 33 Asians, as the college’s second-language student population increased to 90 (3% of the total). To ease access, students were allowed to sign in for college ESL courses through the Office of Continuing Education. A course in Beginning ESL, enrolling 17 students, was added. Intermediate ESL registered 20 students, and there were 18 students in Advanced ESL. In the second fall, the ESL student census grew to 55 students.

With twice as many Hispanics (89) as Asians (44) at the College, the second-language student headcount increased to 133 (4.2% of the total) in the fall of 2000. Beginning ESL registered 21; Intermediate ESL, 29; and Advanced ESL 25, for a total ESL population of 75 students. More than half (56%) of all second-language students were enrolled in ESL.

In the fall semester of 2001, there were 129 Hispanic and 44 Asian students as the second-language census grew to 173 (4.7% of the total). Yet the College’s ESL enrollment declined, possibly because in that semester more than 300 bilingual students began attending free on-campus Adult Education classes in ESL. Beginning ESL enrolled 17; Intermediate ESL, 25; and Advanced ESL 16, for a total of 58 ESL students.

Second-language student enrollment grew to 268 (6.5% of the total) in the fall of 2002, as the 209 Hispanics on campus outnumbered the 59 Asians by nearly four to one. During that semester, Low Intermediate ESL enrolled 24; High Intermediate ESL had 33; Advanced ESL numbered 26, as the ESL population attained to a record headcount of 83.

Research (see Avalos and Pavel, 1993) and experience have demonstrated that participation in ESL and Hispanics studies classes increase Hispanic student retention. If the ESL program opened the front door to Hispanic students in 1998, the Steps to College program initiated in 2001 set out the welcome mat. In the program, forty-five eager Hispanic middle and high school students participated in the enrichment classes held at the College. Supported under the Hispanic Pilot Project of the University System of Georgia, classes in Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies met mornings from June 11 to July 9.

The second summer session of Steps to College occurred from June 9 to July 3, 2002. There were 6 instructors, 5 teaching assistants, and 80 Hispanic 6^th-9^th grade students. Again funded under the Regents Hispanic Pilot Project, the summer program included courses in Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

Funded by Steps to College, specialized after-school tutoring sessions for ESL students at Dalton High School were started in fall 2002. Hispanic students studied three evenings per week to pass the Math, Science, Social Studies, English, and Writing components of the Georgia High School Graduation Test. For more information, go to www.daltonstate.edu/steps.

Less tangible and far more delicate to manage is the feel of the learning environment. Research indicates that "underrepresented groups on campuses often experience segregation, discrimination, and cultural incongruence in predominately White colleges" (Nevarez, 2001).

Dalton State College has adopted a very positive official attitude toward minority participation. Still, some students have reported encountering isolated instances of perhaps inadvertent bias.

"This college is a little difficult for immigrants because of discrimination," one female student of color observed. "For example, if there is a group project in my class, my instructor has to put me in a group because my White classmates will not pick me."

"When I enrolled a few people stared at me like I was an alien. There weren’t so many of us Hispanics, so I felt a little uncomfortable," Mirna remembers. "Instead of discriminating, let’s learn about other cultures, live in peace with everybody, and just help each other. Latinos may not finish college because it takes a lot longer. We feel discouraged about our chances of getting a higher education, so sometimes we prefer to keep working instead of studying."

Another Hispanic college student agrees that "the Hispanic student is often the last chosen or left out because the American students think that the Hispanic student, who may not be able to express himself or herself well, will be a burden on the group and prevent them from getting a good grade.  On the other hand, Hispanic and other international students often study more and are better prepared than American students for their classes."

It is particularly ironic that Hispanic students may be considered undesirable for learning teams, since Hispanics themselves consistently excel at group work.  "At the task engagement level, both groups [Native American and Hispanic students] demonstrated a high propensity for fact retention, elaborate processing, attitude, and reflectivity," Sanchez observes.  ""Group work that requires the practical application of abstract theory and emphasizes that what is being learned in the classroom can be applied to real-life experiences would be appropriate" (2000).

Colleges can make the environment more "congruent" with the lives of their minority students. "Special programs, services and dedicated physical facilities" can improve the students’ sense of belonging and "their chances of persisting through college" (Nevarez, 2001.)

According to Census 2000, one in eight Americans is Hispanic. The rate of educational attainment, however, is not keeping pace. In 1998, about half of Latinos finish high school, and nearly half of the Hispanics who graduate from high school enter college. College attrition results in Latinos accounting for less than 6% of all recipients of bachelor’s degrees. Only 11 percent of all Latinos have college degrees, compared to 25 percent of the total population (Nevarez, 2001).

The statistics at Dalton State College in Fall Semester 2002 show that compared to the rest of the population, Hispanic students have completed somewhat fewer credit hours and have somewhat lower grade point averages. The student average for credit hours accumulated was 42; the average hours accumulated by Hispanic students was 33. The grade point average for all students was 2.87.  The Hispanic student GPA was half a point lower at 2.33--virtually identical to the average GPA of 2.35, computed from a recent report on Hispanic college students (Hu and St. John, 2001).

Hispanic students report struggling in college not only to understand their textbooks, but also to articulate their ideas. If first-language students find Academic English troublesome, how much more elusive must full linguistic mastery appear to second-language learners.

"First language students often can communicate in a very open and extended way," a successful Hispanic student comments. "It is, however, much more difficult for second-language students to communicate. Often we do not ask or answer questions in class, not because we lack ideas, but because we believe that we will not be understood. Even when we do know the exact term, we may be misunderstood, just because or our ‘foreign’ accent.

"In psychology class, for example, there were so many specialized terms that I could not finish the tests during the class period. Even one unknown word can hide the significance of the whole question. Academic vocabulary creates major problems not just for me, but for every student learning English for academic purposes.

"Language and communication barriers jeopardize the success of every second-language learner, making it much more difficult for us to be successful in all of our classes. Yet as long as we maintain our inner motivation, every effort is well worth the struggle. Even if ESL students must overcome more obstacles than regular students, we too can reach our goals of obtaining a higher education."

"Timed tests are brutal for those who read and write English as a second language," a Hispanic student at Dalton State observes.  "Just reading the questions may take twice as long, and if idiomatic expressions are used, then the student is at a distinct disadvantage.  Written tests and essays are especially challenging for the student with competing languages in mind; the time may be over before the student can find the vocabulary and arrange the thoughts into proper English structure.  Some professors allow international students to use dictionaries on tests and occasionally extra time, but others either do not comprehend the situation or are unsympathetic."

Hispanic enrollment at Dalton State quadrupled between 1997 and 2002.  In each of these years, Hispanic enrollment has increased by a factor of 1.5.  If the growth rate continues for five more years, 1600 Hispanic students will represent 25 percent of the total college population.

Having received a half-million dollar grant, the College established Goizuetta Scholarships for Hispanic students in fall 2003. The scholarships will reduce the hours of labor of at least some Latino students. Research shows that increased financial aid improves Hispanic student retention and graduation (Avalos, 1993.) In addition, student loans and part-time work are "clearly associated with success for students at all income levels, and especially for low-income students" (King, 2002).

A recent study finds that the leading factor associated with the retention of Latino college students is a positive mental attitude combined with a desire to succeed.  Another major factor is the encouragement of family, friends, and faculty.  Successful Latino students also invested in co-curricular involvement as a way to participate in the college environment.  For faculty and staff, "validating students' desire to succeed and encouraging their optimistic outlook is a central theme for student retention" (Hernandez, 2000).

Another recent study reveals that Hispanic student achievement positively associates with frequent academic interactions with faculty.  "Because a significant portion of Latino students view faculty as neutral, perhaps the most challenging task for faculty and staff is to increase the frequency of student-faculty interactions while ensuring engaging and supportive interactions" (Anaya and Cole, 2001).

The model Puente project has a 97 percent retention rate in serving more than 200,000 students over its 17 years of operation.  In the first-semester English course, Puente students read multicultural literature and write about their own cultural life experiences.  A counselor provides students with career guidance, academic success information, and encouragement to persist in college.  Mentors invite students to their work sites and speak on their professions in class (Laden, 1999).    

With the rapid expansion of the Hispanic population in northwest Georgia, Dalton State College has responded by providing several key programs and services to assist Latino students: ESL classes, Steps to College, the Goizuetta Scholarship, and a Hispanic student recruiter.

Recommendations for enhancing Hispanic student success include

• create courses that build upon the social background of Hispanic students

• permit increased time for second-language students to write English exit essays

• provide information to Latino families and students on college entry and success

• enhance minority student-professor interactions through faculty development programs

Annya, Guadalupe and Darnell Cole, "Latina/o Student Achievement: Exploring the Influence of Student-Faculty Interactions on College Grades,  Journal of College Student Development (January/February 2001) 42:1, pp. 3-14.

Artze, Isis, "Spanglish Is Here to Stay," Education Digest (September, 2001) 67:1, p. 50.

Avalos, Juan and Michael Pavel. "Improving the Performance of the Hispanic Community College Student" (May, 1993) ERIC Digest.

Baez, Benjamin. "Learning to Forget: Reflections on Identity and Language" Journal of Latinos and Education (2002) 1:2, pp. 123-132.

Brown, Sarita and Deborah Santiago, "Latinos in Higher Education," (March/April, 2003). Change, 35:2, pp. 40-46.

Cameron, Stephen and James Heckman. The Dynamics of Educational Attainment for Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites. National Bureau of Economic Research: Cambridge, MA, 1999.

Frankenberg, Ericka and Chungmei Lee.  Race in American Public Schools: Rapidly Resegregating School Districts.  The Civil Rights Project.  Harvard University.  Cambridge, MA: 2002.

Fry, Richard. Hispanic Youth Dropping out of US Schools. Pew Hispanic Center: Washington, DC, 2003.

Gurin, Patricia et al, "Diversity and Higher Education: Theory and Impact on Educational Outcomes," Harvard Educational Review (Fall 2002) 72:3.

Hernandez, John. "Understanding the Retention of Latino College Students," Journal of College Student Development (November/December 2000) 41:6, pp. 575-584.

Hu, Shouping and Edward St. John.  "Student Persistence in a Public Higher Education System: Understanding Racial and Ethnic Differences," The Journal of Higher Education (May/June 2001) 72:3) pp. 265-286.

Hirschman, Charles. "The Educational Enrollment of Immigrant Youth: A Test of the Segmented-Assimilation Hypothesis," Demography (August 2001) 38:3, pp. 317-336.

King, Jacqueline. Crucial Choices: How Students' Financial Decisions Affect Their Academic Success.  ACE Center for Policy Analysis: Washington, DC, 2002.

Laden, Berta. "Socializing and Mentoring College Students of Color: The Puente Project as an Exemplary Celebratory Socialization Model" Peabody Journal of Education (1999) 74:2, pp.

Llagas, Charmaine and Thomas Snyder, Status and Trends in the Education of Hispanics. National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, 2003.

Millman, Joel and Will Pinkston, "Mexicans Transform a Town in Georgia," Wall Street Journal (August 30, 2001) p. A1.

Sanchez, Irene. "Motivating and Maximizing Learning in Minority Classrooms" New Directions for Community Colleges (Winter 2000) 112, pp. 35-44.

Nevarez, Carlos. "Mexican Americans and Other Latinos in Postsecondary Education" (December, 2001) ERIC Digest.

Valencia, Richard and Mary Black. "Mexican Americans Don’t Value Education!—On the Basis of the Myth, Mythmaking, and Debunking" Journal of Latinos and Education, (2002) 1:2, pp. 81-103.

Vernez, Georges and Mizell, Lee. Goal: To Double the Rate of Hispanics Earning a Bachelor's Degree. RAND Corp., 2001.

Wortham, Stanton. "Struggling Toward Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in the Latino Diaspora" Journal of Latinos and Education (2002) 1:2, pp. 133-144.

"My Success at Dalton State" Interview of Ms. Adriana Barragan, Freshman in Computer Networking, with Dr. Monte Salyer, Assistant Professor of ESL, February 19, 2003

"My parents brought our family here to Dalton, and that’s why I’m studying here at Dalton State. It is the local college and the best place for me to study now.  Like most other Hispanics, I wanted to stay connected with my family.  So it was a pretty easy choice to come here.  I didn't even consider going somewhere else, although I do have friends who went to North Georgia College and Gordon College.

"But before my family moved to the USA, we visited a few places in this country.  It was lots of fun then because we were on an adventure staying with aunts, uncles and cousins.  When I was six years old, my Dad wanted to bring us here. So we came to California. We stayed there for three or four months with my mom's brother's family and her sister who was single.

"During the same visit, next my dad drove us to Florida.  We took the scenic route, and of course we got lost on that long drive.  When we got to Winter Garden, Florida, we joined another of my father's brothers.  His family was still in Mexico, so my parents helped him pick oranges for about three months. 

"Dad drove us that late winter in the Cadillac to New York City.  My mom's sister lived there, and dad got a job in landscaping.  Of course we went to see the Statue of Liberty, but it was too cold to really enjoy it much.

 "My family returned home, but my dad would drive to Virginia every March.  There he worked through the summer, driving tractors on a farm. He would come back to us in Mexico when the farm season ended in September."

"We missed my dad a lot.  I especially did because we were and still are very close.  My parents decided that as soon as we got legal residency, the whole family would move to Virginia.  It was a hard decision, but my parents really wanted us kids to have a better educational and career future, and they knew that we could go farther in the U.S.A.

"So we came back to the United States when I was almost sixteen years old.   I didn’t know any English because there weren’t many English-speakers in my home town. Also, I used to skip my English classes in middle school.  It was way more fun to play volleyball out on the school grounds with my friends, and I wasn't thinking about needing English one day.

"My family came back here for a while to become legal residents.  We stayed in Virginia a few months, but then when the agricultural season ended, we returned to Mexico for four more months.

"My Dad was working in agriculture, driving tractors and doing other jobs on a farm in Virginia. But in Mexico he could work by himself or with other men as an independent contractor. We stayed there in Virginia for seven months.  My brother and I went to school by bus, and most of the people there were Blacks. I couldn’t understand them, but just the way they looked at us made us uncomfortable.

"For example, one day on the bus, this girl looked back at us and said, 'All you Mexicans smell bad.’ Then she sprayed perfume on us.  You can imagine how we felt!  Anyway, I just had to go to school there even if I didn’t want to.  I sort of wanted to just go to work on the farm with my dad, but then I also knew that there was no real future in that for me. So I continued in school, even with the problems.

"In that place, they didn’t have special classes for us to learn English. There were only about ten Hispanic students among the hundreds of mostly Black students in the whole high school.  So we had to go to regular classes even if we didn’t understand the teacher or the other students.  In math it was OK, but in history I was lost.  The teacher got up front and talked everyday, and all I could do was try to guess where he was in the book.  By some miracle, I did not fail the classes.  I got by with the help of the few other Hispanic students who were there.

"I came to high school in Virginia at sixteen, but they put me back in the ninth grade. It was just terrible: I felt insulted and belittled.  All I wanted was to be normal, like everyone else.  After all, I was supposed to be in the eleventh grade.

"So when I did come here to Dalton, in high school, people would ask how old I was. There were maybe a little surprised because I was pretty old to be there at nineteen.

"My family came here because my Dad wanted to buy a house and to settle down with the family. He needed a permanent job, so he came to work here. One of my dad's brothers had told us that there were jobs here in the carpet mills.

"I didn’t want to come here. My parents wanted to come here since in Mexico we would only finish high school.  They wanted us to complete a college degree program and to enter professional careers.  I didn’t say anything to them because I knew that they were doing it because they wanted the very best possible future for me and my two little brothers.

"Our family life has changed a lot, and not always for the better, in my opinion, because we just had more together there.  When we were in Mexico, my Mom didn’t work. She was just at home all day cooking and doing stuff for us. And my Dad, he would be out working, and then at night sometimes he’d go out with his friends.

"But living here, they don’t go out much.  My Dad just stays at home most of the time with us or with my Mom. Sometimes I think that he, I don’t know, needs to do something more. Because I think he’s bored, and if he feels that, he takes us to play soccer. But I’d like him to play pool or something with some friends. He has work friends, but not the close, personal ones like in Mexico.  Probably my dad learned how to sort of do things by himself when he was working alone in Virginia.

"My mother enjoys her work now, but I don’t like her to be that way. She works from seven to seven at night. They work in the same place together, so when I go home at 11:30 every night, sometimes they aren’t there. Sometimes I don’t get to see them for three or four days. It’s kind of sad because no one is waiting there for me. Sometimes I don’t want to eat that much because I don’t want to alone.

"Before I came here, I always wanted to be with someone. At work I talked to everyone. But when I’m not at work now, I find myself driving or eating alone too often. It’s like I’m getting used to it, and I don’t like the change.  Maybe I am more like my father than I know.

"When I was in Mexico, I wasn’t quiet. I was, I don’t know, a little bit of a trouble-maker.  Maybe you could call me an adventurous type, but not in a really bad way.  I have never even wanted to take drugs or anything like that.  In class, if the teacher asked questions, I’d be the first one to answer. I used to do everything; I’d even get awards and diplomas every year.  I still have them, but they are in Mexico.

"But when I came to school in Virginia, it was sad because I was in class, and no one even noticed me.  It was like I became an invisible person.  Even if I knew the answer in class, I couldn’t express it, so I felt stupid.  That experience hurt my self-concept.  I felt academically and socially inferior, at least until my senior year of high school. 

"And even now in college, sometimes when my ESL instructor is talking, I know the answers, but I just can’t force myself to answer. Maybe I’m just not ready yet, or maybe I’ve changed. I don’t know.  I still feel too insecure to break out of my shell and to talk up in class, although I do answer when other students near me ask questions.

"When I came to Dalton High, I was afraid about not fitting in to classes and not finding friends.  But then I got to know people in the ESOL classes, and I started to feel really good.  In Biology class, Ms. Sarida Hoy helped me prepare to pass the Georgia Graduation Test in Science.  She took special interest in me, so in the halls she would ask how I was doing to help me along.  The only Social Studies class I had taken was in Virginia when I knew just a little English.  I didn't know much in that area and didn't pass that part of the Graduation Test at first.  But after taking U.S. History, I passed that section of the test.  I aced the Math section of the test and passed the Writing component as well.

"But some of my Hispanic friends who had been in Dalton for a long time didn't do so well.  A lot of them failed all four sections of Graduation Test, even after the five attempts we are allowed in high school.  It seemed like they felt a little superior because they spoke English fluently enough, but when it came to the academic tests, they got into trouble.  A very popular Hispanic classmate who was born in California and is a fluent speaker of English still took most of high school in ESOL sheltered classes.  She along with too many others failed the Graduation Test repeatedly.  They ended up with just certificates of completion instead of diplomas.  A year later, several of them are studying in adult education classes, hoping to pass the exam and to get into college.

"In high school, if I was in front of someone that could speak English, I said as little as possible so as not to sound or look stupid.  There were some popular Anglo guys who seemed to want to get to know me, but I shied away from them, not because they weren't interesting, but just because I felt uncomfortable communicating with them.  After being in college and mingling with people of other cultures, I have opened up and talk with everyone.

"I know my parents came here for us because they’re not trying to go to school or do anything special just for themselves. We have more material possessions, but that is not really why we are here.  They don’t ask how I’m doing in school because always since I was in Kindergarten they have expected me to get good grades. They trust me in everything to take care of matters well.  Sometimes I wish they’d ask, ‘Hey, how did you do on your speech?’ or something.  But that's just how independent they see me as.

"When I was a senior in high school, I decided to come to Dalton State.  Earlier on I had considered dropping out of high school because I felt that I couldn’t master English at the professional level.  When I went to regular classes in high school, I was scared.  Comparing my grades to others', I began to have hope in my future.

"Then last summer, I was awarded the Hope scholarship from the State of Georgia to attend college, so I feel recognized.  Last semester was my first one here in college.  I was just as scared to come here as I was to attend the other schools.  Here it was not so much the language issue as it was the problem of maybe not knowing anyone.

"If I was only going to graduate from high school it wouldn't be so good.  I know a lot of people like that.  That level is not going to make any difference in jobs.  I would just continue to work in production for the carpet mill. 

"In my senior year in high school, I was thinking, maybe two years of college, that’s fine for me.  An associate's degree seemed difficult enough for me under the circumstances.  Then I discovered that there still aren't so many good job opportunities with a two-year degree.  So now I'm thinking about maybe four years. And then I started thinking, maybe six years, if you can believe it. We’ll see.

"Also, like a lot of other students, I'm just figuring out my career.  With the help of my advisor, Dr. Monte, I've realized that I have a creative, adaptive, and goal-oriented personality.  I see myself taking an education major and becoming a teacher.

"You have to take a four-year degree to become a teacher.  I can take two years in education at Dalton State.  Then I can take the third and fourth years of education here on campus with the University of West Georgia extension program.  The Bachelor in Education degree from West Georgia includes an endorsement to teach ESOL.

"Also, in a couple of years, when I finish the Associate's degree in Education, Dalton State may add a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education.  That would be very good for me.

"When I was in Mexico, I lived in a small town where they don’t have any college or university.  The nearest university is two hours away, so it’s not so easy to go to there.  The cost of tuition is much higher, and there are very few scholarships available. 

"So I thought that just graduating from high school would be it for me and my brothers.  Now that I have started thinking about it, I thank my parents for bringing us here.  I want to graduate as soon as possible.  In order to achieve my developing goals, this summer I'm going to modify my work schedule from full-time at Shaw Industries to become a part-time program assistant in the Steps to College Hispanic outreach program.  Getting more involved in the college will advance me more rapidly in my career development.  I really need to graduate and to get a professional career to reward my parents. I am determined to get them out of their factory jobs.

"Fall semester 2002, I took two college courses.  I didn't know until recently that In Reading Skills I got an A. In Intermediate Algebra, I got into the top level too. Only two of us were Hispanics in Reading, but the teacher really helped us. That class was good for me. There were three of us helping each other together in Algebra, and the feeling was OK.

"Spring semester 2003, I took Academic Success, Fundamentals of Speech, College Algebra, and High Intermediate ESL.  I'm upset with getting two B's, one S, and one A.  Working full-time hurt my grades, so I'm not going to repeat that. 

"I really like it here at the College. Actually, the Hispanics who have lived here all of their lives sometimes laugh at us as the newcomers. But I don’t laugh at them. But I think, and I say this for sure, that those who come at older ages from Mexico, can be smarter than the ones who stayed here a long time already.  Some of the Hispanic teenagers who've been here a long time are into drugs and don't study much.  But those of us who've come as teens already take life more seriously.

"This semester I’m taking four courses because I want to finish sooner. I’ve decided I can do more. I’m in College Algebra, and it’s harder. I think it’s hard mostly because of the teacher. High Intermediate ESL is different for me because in high school they give the class in a simple way.  You don't get into much detail about the language.  But they don’t teach you how to speak English at a higher level.  In high school, you’re getting it by hearing. I’ve never taken any class before where they tell me, ‘Well, here's the difference between using, for example, the verbs "say" and "tell."

"Sometimes if we come to class and go home, it’s not enough. Not so long ago, I was thinking it doesn’t make any change in my life. When is college going to make a change? You get tired of going to class, coming home, going to work, and coming home again.  It's like an endless cycle that goes nowhere.  But when a teacher tells you, ‘I think you can become someone; I think you can take this career,’ then you feel hope.

"Here are some of the things we are learning in college.  Academic Success class helps us see why we should study in certain ways. Speech class is intimidating, but we are getting to know each other a lot. The teacher is helping us to feel more comfortable. Sometimes I feel that the others are going to laugh at me, but then something inside of me says, ‘What? They care about me. They don’t treat me like that.’ And they won’t laugh at me because we’re all in the same situation. So if I go up front, and say something wrong, they won’t laugh, because then it’s going to be their turn to go up. We care about each other.

"Actually, until I speak, I think that most people don’t know where I’m from. Maybe compared to some, I have a little advantage because my family has more of a European look. My Dad used to live Jalisco. He was born there, but then he moved to Michoacan. The two states are near each other.

"My Dad has kind of blue green eyes. He’s tall. He has my color of skin. And my Mom is really white, but her brothers and sisters are all really dark.

"My brother that is seventeen is really white like my mother. The one that is eight is kind of darker. So we say, ‘You’re Indian.’ And my mother’s brothers tell her, ‘You’re adopted’ because she’s totally white. In my Dad’s family, they have blue eyes, all of my uncles and aunts. But I don’t have them.  They are ‘miel’ or honey colored; that’s how they call them in Spanish.

"Maybe it’s not even the white people here who think that the Hispanics can’t get ahead. It’s like some of the Hispanics who think ‘I can’t do it’ because maybe they don’t try hard enough to reach their goals. Still I do believe that the ones becoming educated in college are going to have better careers. And I want to be part of that change here, so that’s why I’m in college.

"My degree program was from the first the certificate in Computer Networking.  Unlike most of us who work full-time, I chose to work full-time in the carpet factory because I like to keep busy and I didn't know how the job would affect my college studies.  My job is not so difficult, but it takes a lot of time.  Sometimes they push me into overtime.  Like last Friday my supervisor had me do a twelve hour shift. But the more I study here, the more I’m thinking about continuing on in my career development. So I need to change my major to Education requiring more study toward a four-year degree program.

"I see a group of us Hispanics at Dalton State becoming well educated.  And we are going to move into better, more educated careers pretty soon. We are not satisfied with just working with our hands. We want to use our heads to get ahead.  Lots of our families are behind us in developing careers.

"So I think that the Hispanic community is going to look different in a few years. There are going to be lots of nurses, computer technicians, teachers, and people in other educated careers. 

"I only remember three Hispanic teachers from Dalton High school, but soon there will be more.  I would love to be there myself as an English teacher, and in fact I'm just starting to see myself in that role and beyond.  Why couldn't I become a college English teacher, too?  Surely, there are other Hispanic students here now that are beginning to think like I am. 

"After all, education is how things are going to get better for all of us.  It’s never easy to do something, but it is a good opportunity for us to improve ourselves here at Dalton State.