Adding Informational Liquidity to Latino Communities: The Search for Stories of Hope

Written By: Erik Peterson

Which degree is right for me? How can I empower my mind to make my dreams a reality? What are my dreams? Do I have a dream? Students living in today’s global economy face daunting choices. As more and more students are asked to pay more money for less schooling due to cut-backs in funding from state and federal budgets and with fewer scholarships from private charities available, more students are beginning to feel unsure about what to do after high school, a time when most are preparing to enter university degree programs. Of the students that do enter university, many remain unsure as to what course of study to begin, what subject to major in, and how a degree will translate in the real world after graduation. Of the students that aren't accepted to university, many wonder if community colleges offer anything of value. These concerns raise important questions that need answers but, with the current state of affairs in education, it is unclear where these answers will come from, let alone, what the answers will be. How can this country strive to prosper in the world when the very future of the nation is being asked such difficult questions and no help is being offered? What venue can offer a voice that reaches out across school fences, across state lines, and across national borders? What is missing from the courses available online from prestigious universities around the world? Or, from podcasts and youtube videos that theoretically show how a person could get a $100K education for free from home?

In July of 2010, I started a youtube project to document recent graduate’s college experiences in order to find answers to these difficult questions. From the perspective of recent graduates turned professionals from across the country, I asked what people studied and why each person chose the particular field or career he or she was currently in. I asked: had the person made the right decision? Was there ever a doubt as to what he or she had studied at university? While a student, did that person stick to one major or change direction mid-step by adding a minor or a second major? I thought about the time during which I went to college and, looking back, realized that very little help is available to students that don't already have strong support systems in the community, home, or in school. As budgets continue to face deeper cuts at the federal and state level, I find that counselors appear more concerned with making students take more classes off a checklist than making sure each student is happy with the choices he or she has already made. Neither my life nor my goals is a checklist, so let's be honest with today’s youth and let them know the truth about college, life, and working in order to make their lives better. Let’s face it, if we continue to give aspiring students the same checklist as before, without addressing what is happening in today’s job market, many of these aspiring students going through the system will be frightened or stifled by the lack of information available to them, especially the students that do not have mentors or peers to talk to.

The United States is home to many peoples, including Latinos. I myself am half Mexican, half Swedish. Though I didn’t have a Latino community to guide me as I grew up, I did have great parents to teach me that, with hard work and a no fear-of-failure attitude, one can achieve many great things. From my parents, I learned how to ask for help from others based on the truth and value of a person’s knowledge, regardless of their background or beliefs. I believe that Latinos have so much potential to shape the direction and narrative of this great country but we first need to empower our minds and assess what the current system is doing to our families, communities, and friends. I find that a person’s natural tendency is to take the path that he or she is already familiar with. With this youtube project though, we can expand the minds of the youth to create even more possibilities. We can be PhDs, bankers, dentists, scientists, lawyers, venture capitalists, but we can’t strive to be what we have never seen before. The people I interview for the youtube project show youths what’s out there, what’s going on in their globe. Today, it is up to each individual to ask what he or she wants to accomplish, what his or her passion and true calling in life is, and to get the necessary support in order to pursue and achieve those dreams. My hope is that one day counselors will be able to direct students to relevant interviews in the fields and career paths of their choosing and from people who are their relative peers—people that chose a path, succeeded, and are telling others how to do likewise. We can reach them. I know we can whether it’s in Monterey, California or Monterrey, Mexico.

To view Erik's youtube project visit: youtube.com/whichdegree4me
& follow him on twitter @emcp_