ANDREA FALKENHAGEN Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Monday, August 9, 2004 12:00 am
So what is the difference between students like Victor Simental and those students who slip through the cracks and never finish college? Certainly intelligence and perseverance play a large role, but Victor believes certain programs helped him and can help other Hispanic students succeed at the University of Wyoming.
For instance, if the university really wants to increase Hispanic students on campus, Simental said, mentoring programs are indispensable
"Students who come in and just focus on their studies, if they were to have a mentor or a professor or administrator, staff, anybody, they would feel like they would be a part of the university," he said.
Mentoring begins well before college in the form of college preparation programs - like Upward Bound, the program Simental credits for his UW attendance.
He and his siblings were fortunate to hook up with the program - he said it was his Upward Bound mentors who first got him thinking seriously about higher education - and then helped get him through it.
Upward Bound is the pre-college portion of the federal TRIO program, which aims to increase enrollment of first-generation students and low-income students in post-secondary education.
It sponsors classes at the university for high-school students, to experience both campus and college life, as well as provide mentoring and assistance in applying to colleges and obtaining financial aid.
Simental went to the Upward Bound camp in Laramie after his junior year of high school, and it quite literally changed his life, he said.
"It's amazing what Upward Bound does," he said. "You take classes, college prep classes, it's a change to be away from mom and dad, having to do laundry, manage your own money, you can do it from ninth grade up until you graduate."
In fact, the program has helped all his siblings prepare for higher education.
Both his older sister and brother attended and acquired either associate or bachelor's degrees at LCCC, and now his younger sister is also attending.
"Before I got into Upward Bound I was in high school and saw my future working in labor jobs because that's what I saw my family members doing, building houses, building roads. I saw them working hard and getting what they wanted," he said. "But then I had the opportunity to go to UW for the summer and it made me realize what an education could do for me."
Even after he arrived on campus, Victor was able to take advantage of free tutoring and mentoring. The former dean of students was his mentor for three years, and helped him find internships and connect with other people, also mentors. "A mentor is a good resource, but he's also a good friend," Simental said.
Simental said he is also impressed with the recruiting efforts of UW, saying the administration provides a lot of financial support for such efforts.