In 1993, Ellen Ochoa became the first Latina person in space. She logged nearly 1,000 hours in orbit across four space missions, studying the Earth's ozone layer. She would later become the NASA Johnson Space Center’s first Latina director and only its second female director. "At the time, it was really a personal thing," Ochoa told TODAY. "It was something I was very excited to participate in, and I loved working with the team and with my crew and doing work that was important to understanding changes in the atmosphere." "I realized the mission had repercussions well beyond that. I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of student groups, I was featured in children's books, textbooks – I'm just really grateful there was this whole extra dimension to that flight beyond the ...
Many Latino youth face declining mental health amid the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, a racial/ethnic social justice movement, and economic hardships. Sadly, many aren’t getting the help they need, either. About 65% of Latino college students have mental health issues that go untreated, as they are less likely than their white peers to engage with campus mental health services, according to a new study from researchers at University of California, Riverside. “This means counselors can identify a culturally sensitive, value-driven approach to encouraging greater participation in campus mental health services, instead of focusing only on students’ ethnicity in their outreach efforts” said study senior author Kalina Michalska. “Given the increasing diversity among U.S. ...
Dr. Ángela Gutiérrez has always been passionate about health disparities research. “I had previously worked on health disparities research focusing on diabetes, fibromyalgia among Latinx communities, and I've done a lot of community-based research,” Gutiérrez said. So when the opportunity arose to apply to Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training at UT Health San Antonio, Gutiérrez was thrilled to learn more. “It was through Éxito! that I realized the prevalence and importance of focusing on cancer disparities as well, not just focusing on diabetes and fibromyalgia,” Gutiérrez said. Participating in Éxito! helped Gutiérrez apply and get accepted to a PhD program in Community Health Sciences at the Fielding School of Public Health of the University of ...
Early education can make a huge impact on the lives of children — especially its effects on economic opportunities, college prep, and finding a good-paying job. Yet it is far too common for Latinos and other disadvantaged students to face barriers for quality K-12 education. That’s why The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit policy organization, recently published five policy recommendations that can make a huge difference in the education of Latino students. “Latino students in particular constitute a significant and growing portion of the U.S. student population yet are often overlooked in education literature because they are not the lowest performing demographic,” the report states. “We considered factors that may’ve influenced student performance, including both ...
For the third time, Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez's Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program at UT Health San Antonio has been named a finalist for Excelencia in Education's "Examples of Excelencia." The awards spotlight evidence-based programs that support Latino students in higher education. Éxito! was also a finalist in 2018 and 2019. The winning “Examples of Excelencia” in four categories—associate, baccalaureate, graduate, and community-based organizations—will be announced virtually at Excelencia in Education’s annual Celebracion de Excelencia on Oct. 28. 2021. Excelencia in Education is a national group that promotes Latinos in higher education. Éxito! recruits 25 Latino students and health professionals annually for a culturally tailored ...
As a result of COVID-19 and systemic injustice, Latinos are not faring well in the job market. Worse, Latinos are experiencing the widest gap in one of the nation’s fastest-growing fields — a career in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The depth of the gap could consign Latinos to lower-paying jobs, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center. “Black and Latino workers remain underrepresented in the STEM workforce compared with their share of all workers, including in computing jobs, which have seen considerable growth in recent years,” the Pew researchers state.
What Is the Latino Gap in STEM Jobs?
Latinos make up 17% of the overall workforce in the U.S. However, they only make up 8% of those employed in STEM fields. STEM jobs are ...
Latino students were once the fastest-growing group in U.S. colleges. Due to COVID-19, that is no longer the case. Latinos and other communities of color continue to bear a heavy burden of the pandemic economic fallout, making it harder for families to send their children to college. In response, George Fox University, a private university in Newberg, Oregon, launched the Liberation Scholars Program. The program offers seminars, mentoring, and more for high school students at Woodburn High School, according to Mario Garza, a college and career counselor at Woodburn. “I think what we try to do, and I think what George Fox is doing with us through their Liberation Scholars program, is really trying to build up the toolbox for all of these kids,” Garza said, according to ...
Latinos are suffering high rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths, with low vaccine rates. But in addition to the health impact, the pandemic is worsening underlying health inequities for this population in areas like access to housing, federal aid, and healthy food. Now, new research shows that the pandemic is even reducing the number of Latino students enrolling in college. The economic crisis brought on by the spread of the coronavirus, which hit the Latino community hard, made it hard for many Latino students to enroll. “Because our adults tend to be blue-collar workers who have lost out in this economy, having additional hands, all able-bodied folks working, has become essential,” Deborah A. Santiago, chief executive of the nonprofit advocacy group Excelencia in Education, ...
Program leaders have selected 26 aspiring Latino researchers from across the nation to join the 2021 cohort of Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training at UT Health San Antonio. Each year, Éxito! recruits U.S. master’s level students and professionals to participate in a five-day, culturally tailored Éxito! summer institute to promote pursuit of a doctoral degree and cancer research. The 26 new participants were selected from a deep pool of applicants. Each participant now will join the Éxito! summer institute on June 7-11, 2021 in San Antonio. They will interact with Latino researchers and doctoral experts to learn about Latino cancer, succeeding in a doctoral program, and the diversity of research careers.
Meet the 2021 Éxito! Ccohort Leslie Aragon, ...
