Mentoring Young Latinas to Academic Success
By Franco Hernandez
FORT WORTH, TX (August 31, 2013) – The sensual voice of jazz singer Stephanie Garcia, charmed guests, as they viewed art work for auction at the Galeria de la Rosa, Rose Marine Theater (1440 N. Main Street, Fort Worth, TX). This event is the ArtSi ninth annual art show and silent auction which is a fundraiser for the Hispanic Women Network of Texas Fort Worth Chapter (HWNT FW) which supports scholarships for graduates of Latinas in Progress Education Series (LIP).
Current HWNT-FW Chair, Anette Soto, spoke about HWNT’s history, “in 1986 about two hundred women met in Austin, Texas to discuss the lack of strong support for Hispanic women. These concerned women returned to their respective cities of residence and established local chapters of HWNT. Now, most major cities in Texas have an HWNT chapter. The Fort Worth chapter of HWNT is one of the largest in Texas and continues to grow, currently it has 165 members. One of Soto’s goals is to make the Fort Worth Chapter the largest in Texas.” HWNT is a non-profit organization that promotes the participation of Hispanic women in public, corporate, and civic arenas.
“The ArtSi art show and silent auction event is the best confirmation of women in the community coming together to help the next generation. Everyone that participates in ArtSi is a volunteer, including the artists who donate their artwork,” stated Soto.
Soto speaks about Latinas in Progress Education Series (LIP), “LIP focuses on Latinas, and it has become the state model for similar programs. LIP has served over 400 girls. Usually 80 girls will participate in LIP from September to March of their senior year in high school, but of those, only about 55 finish the program. LIP consists of modules that teach a variety of skills needed to succeed in college, from navigating college admissions to healthy relationships. Speakers and instructors of the modules are specialists or professionals in these skills; some are former participants of LIP who return to volunteer.”
“LIP chooses students from all high schools in Fort Worth; students have varying levels of academic and leadership achievement. Participants of LIP can apply for scholarships supported by HWNT FW. To qualify a student must complete all LIP modules; graduate from LIP, complete an application for scholarship which also includes an essay and resume, and complete volunteer hours,” stated Soto.
Soto informed that, “students and parents who are interested in LIP can speak with their high school counselors, or they can go to LIP website www.lipfw.org.”
A volunteer at ArtSi, Daisy Castro, speaks about her experience with LIP, “I graduated from Northside high school in 2010, and I’m currently a Political Science major at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), LIP provided the mentorship and guidance that I needed to be successful in life and school, my parents were very supportive of me in high school, they wanted me to go to college, but they didn’t have the skills and information needed to guide me because they were not educated themselves. LIP filled that huge gap in guidance and mentorship, the most important value they instilled in me was commitment to my goals, the skill of organizing my time and resources, and learning to be assertive. These are the values and skills that have served me most in succeeding in college.”
“I was a high performer in high school, but that isn’t sufficient to prepare you for the challenges of college, you need mentors and guidance, you need specific skills, you need to acquire the values of success, many of these things cannot be provided by parents who don’t’ have these skills themselves. One example of this situation is my older sister who managed to graduate from TCU, but went through hardships and painful experiences because despite being a good student, she didn’t have the needed mentorship. Compared to my older sister my experience in college is a pleasant one because of LIP mentorship, that’s why I convinced my younger sister to also participate in LIP. She is now a freshman at the University of North Texas,” stated Castro.
Ninotchka Beavers from Dallas, Texas is excited about her daughter Natalie entering the LIP program. Beavers said, “I discovered LIP when volunteering my time and donating artwork to an ArtSi event, I want my daughter to have the best preparation and tools for college success, and LIP is the best at this. I also like that LIP emphasizes the Latina heritage of participants. Natalie is my first born daughter and I want her to have the best support and preparation for college.”
High school senior Natalie pointed out that, “I’m also an artist and have donated art to ArtSi; I’m excited and thankful for the opportunity to participate in LIP.”