Running head: YOUNG MEN OF COLOUR

College Going Culture Project: Young Men of Colour

Rachel Kwan
San Diego State University

YOUNG MEN OF COLOUR

College Going Culture Project: Young Men of Colour

An interview was conducted to explore college and career readiness with J.G., a 17 year
old Mexican senior attending Eastlake High School in Chula Vista. J.G. is the oldest child in his
family, and will be the first to attend college if he is accepted. The interview was conducted in
two parts, with the first part focusing on his college aspirations and challenges, and the second
part concentrating on recommendations for his college readiness.
First Meeting
College Aspirations
J.G.s story begins in his sophomore year, when he left his immediate family in Tijuana
to live with relatives in the United States and attend Eastlake High School. His grandmother was
born in the United States, granting his family citizenship. Although his family was living in
Mexico, his parents granted him the option of attending high school in the United States after he
finished middle school in Mexico. J.G. confessed that although it was hard to leave his family
and home behind, he knew that it would give him a better future in terms of going to an
American college and creating a life in the United States. In J.G.s eyes, there is no question
about whether he will attend college; he has made hard sacrifices to gain the opportunity to
attend college in the United States, and he will not let those dreams fail (J.G., personal
communication, October 8, 2014).
Regarding college choice and major, J.G. has set his sights on San Diego State University
and a degree in electrical engineering. Eastlake High School is part of the compact for success,
granting J.G. easier access into San Diego State University. Finances also prove challenging, and
J.G. is concerned that further campuses may cost too much in terms of out of state fees,
traveling, and living expenses. He chose electrical engineering partially because he likes math,

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but mostly because he knows that a careers in STEM are high in demand and pay well. When
asked what his ideal major would be if not considering future job prospects, he said that he is
most interested in philosophy and astrophysics. However, since his focus is getting a well-paying
job after college graduation, he has decided to pursue engineering over his other interests (J.G.,
personal communication, October 8, 2014).
College Preparation
College preparation for J.G. has consisted of gathering as much information about
applications as he can, and working hard to achieve more than those requirements. Although he
only plans to apply to San Diego State University through the compact for success, J.G. has
surpassed the compact benchmarks with a 3.8 GPA and several AP classes. He took PSAT twice,
though decided on taking the ACT instead of the SAT because of the ACTs heavier focus on
science (J.G., personal communication, October 8, 2014).
Financial aid is another important component to J.G.s ability to fulfil his dream of
college. Although he cannot the FASFA application until January, J.G. has been a frequent
visitor on message boards and FAQ sections on financial aid. Based on his research, he is
confident that his tuition at San Diego State University will be covered by FASFA based on his
familys income level (J.G., personal communication, October 8, 2014).
Demographic College Statistics
According to a school counseling series published by College Board, 64% of students
who dropped out of San Diego Unified School District in 2010 were Latino, yet Latinos
constitute only 46% of the student population (Valladolid-Rodriguez, 2012). Out of those Latino
students who graduated in 2008, only 30% graduated with UC/CSU requirements. In addition to
this, only 18% of Hispanic males had an associate degree or higher in 2011 (Dunn, 2012).

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When shown these statistics, J.G.s reaction was surprising. He was neither inspired nor
discouraged; rather, he did not believe that these statistics related to him and what his experience
will be like in getting accepted and completing college. He acknowledged that it is a shame that
more Hispanics do not make it through college, but pointed out that it is a shame when anyone
(regardless of race) does not make it to college. To J.G., his identity as a Mexican is unrelated to
his future success. He believes that he as an individual has what it takes to reach his goal of a
degree in electrical engineering (J.G., personal communication, October 8, 2014).
Recommendations
J.G. is extremely driven and hardworking. As a student with a clear vision of the future
he wants and the steps to take to achieve it, there were not many recommendations that
immediately came to mind for his college preparation and readiness. However, further thought
raised the question about whether his intense focus worked against him in some situations.
Despite his academic strength, J.G. plans to apply to only one college. Although San Diego State
is a safe and viable option for him, limiting himself to one college removes the opportunity for
different experiences in other campuses. As location and program strengths are only two factors
in picking a college, J.G. could use the Big Future College Search on the College Board website
to search through colleges using multiple factors such as selectivity, support services, academic
credit, etc. Researching and applying for more colleges would not do any harm, and might even
open new opportunities for him.
Second Meeting
Perceptions of the Student
As mentioned previously, J.G. is an extremely driven and hardworking student with a
clear vision of what he wants in his future and the ability to achieve those goals. J.G. is future

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oriented, from his initial decision to leave his immediate family in Mexico, to his plan to major
in electrical engineering over other interests in order to secure a high-paying job after graduation.
Since J.G. is already well informed and prepared for college applications, he often led the
interview by bringing up the steps he has taken to ensure that his goals are reached. Despite how
much effort he has put into his planning, J.G. did not come off as boastful when discussing his
goals. He stated everything in a matter-of-fact manner, minus his admittance that it was hard to
leave his family in Mexico and that he misses them despite visiting often. Luckily, his family is
planning to come to live in the United States with him in the New Year.
Activity
During our meeting I brought in a laptop to show J.G. the Big Future College Search on
College Board. After going through the filters and selecting what was important to him, J.G. was
presented with a list of 11 other colleges to consider (including San Diego State). Although J.G.
seemed set on San Diego State University in our first meeting, I believe that this activity made
him think about other college factors that are important to him. This activity also broadened the
scope of his college search, presenting him with more options for his degree in engineering.
After the activity we talked about how applying for more colleges would not hurt him, and that
he could always decline even after getting an offer.
Reflections and Self Learning
I am grateful to have met such a committed student. Hearing about J.G.s dreams and the
sacrifices he has made to achieve them was truly inspiring. J.G. is very mature for his age,
highlighting the difference between my experiences last year at an elementary/middle school and
my experience this year working with high school students. It is hard to say so early in the year
whether I feel more comfortable with high school students, or whether I have just been lucky in

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talking to extremely dedicated students this year (not to say that I do not want to work with atrisk and underachieving youth, but I am less confident in my abilities to help students start
achieving than help students keep achieving).
I was uncomfortable bringing up demographic statistics with J.G., especially since the
numbers were not especially positive in terms of how many Hispanic student graduate from a
post-secondary institution. Whenever I talk to students, I think about how I would react to certain
topics if I were the student being counseled. If someone were to discuss negative demographic
statistics with me, I would become defensive and distrusting of the counselors intentions. I
believe that an important job as a school counselor is to inspire students and help them believe in
their own abilities, and I do not think bringing up demographic statistics will help achieve that.
Even if framed in a positive way, it still has a strong potential to work in the opposite direction
by discouraging the student. In addition, even if the topic is broached, we would still be coming
from a position of power and possible racial difference, which could be interpreted by the student
as us saying that they are not likely to succeed. I brought up demographic statistics because it
was part of this project, but I do not think it is something that I will use in the future.
Although I would like to think that I am developing the abilities of a culturally competent
school counselor, I still identified biases I had going into this interview. When I set up the
interview to meet with a first generation student, I was expecting to have to list all the benefits of
college in order to convince them that it was an opportunity within their reach. During the
interview with J.G., it was him who was telling me about all the steps he had taken in order to
ensure his success getting into and graduating college.

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7
References

M.A. Valladolid-Rodriguez. (2012). Hombre Noble Club. Transforming the Educational

Experience of Young Men of Color, Volume 1, 22-27.
J.A. Dunn. (2012). Research and the Need for Change. Transforming the Educational
Experience of Young Men of Color, Volume 1, 1.
College Board. (2014). Big Future by the College Board. Retrieved from:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search