High Light of the Day - Day Two

This morning we had to wake up early to get registered for HACU and to eat breakfast. The first conferences were mainly directed to the Deans and Presidents of Colleges and Universities. They gave different resources and tools to receive scholarships, grants, and funds for the universities/colleges. Although it was difficult to understand some of the subjects discussed in the first two conferences, I learned about the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and how there mission is to support the research of minority health. This was interesting to me because of the issues that we have in Douglas with the lack of hospital services. There is no hospitals in Douglas, only a clinic for emergencies and this has certainly affected our community. NIMHD recognizes the importance of workforce diversity and they strongly believe that diversity in the bio medical workforce will improve the quality of training environment and it will also improve minority health because it will be understood culturally. Another important conference they gave during lunch was about having debt free graduates. Education debt not only has an impact on the students, but also on the family. Many institutions allow students to receive loans knowing that some families are not able to repay. Moreover, institutions have to ensure that their students are receiving what their education is worth. Senator Reed has proposed a "Protect Student Borrowers Act" Bill that will help those students with ruined credit and eligibility to continue their education. I learned that academic challenges in higher institutions lack of facilities and not enough preparations because of factors such as low income in minorities, but there will be nothing done about this until we, as Hispanics, present these problems to our representatives and also until the government decides to take action upon this issue. Finally, out of the various conferences we had today, my favorite one was where they taught us how we were going to advocate for other Hispanic students attending to a higher institution. According to speaker Deborah Koolbeck advocacy is about relationships. Tomorrow, when we go to Capitol Hill, we will have the opportunity and the honor to meet Senator Jeff Flake and Congresswomen Martha McSally. We will be able to ask our representatives about their thoughts on Hispanic higher education. Tomorrow I want to go to Capitol Hill with an open mind to learn from our Representatives' view on higher education. I want them to be aware of the problems we face as Hispanics in higher education because they represent us in this country! HACU has already impacted my life - I have a whole different perspective of the world that surrounds me and the importance of being a part of those who make a change in our community. The experience I am getting at HACU has made me an empowered student and it has given me vision of ways in which I want to influence the lives of other Hispanic students.