Pathways to Higher Education for Maryvale Students
Lab: Avanzando Education Pathways, Fall 2022
Instructors: Mara Lopez, Dulce Gonzalez-Estevez
Type: Website
Tags:
Team: Adriana Gonzalez-Chavez, Lynette Hrabik, Nithya Raman, Joseph Rotella, Ethan Scheider
Learn more about this Lab
About the outcome
Our team is addressing the barriers that high school students in Maryvale may face when attending secondary education. Through research our team discovered that first-generation Latinx students face emotional and financial challenges that discourage them from attending a university. These challenges also make attending a university more difficult compared to other groups. Many of the students in the Maryvale community are part of the Latinx community and first-generation students graduating from high school. Close to 75 percent of the community is Hispanic. We believe building a website that can provide resources, representation and mentorship for the students of Maryvale can encourage them and support them to pursue secondary education. To address barriers to higher education, this website would provide resources to support students in various capacities. Since many Maryvale students are first-generation college students, the site will help students and their families understand financial aid, how to apply for college, and how to prepare for college. These resources will also be translated into Spanish so content is accessible for parents who are not fluent in English. We will also include a podcast that centers Latinx voices to help empower Latinx students. The site’s production is interdisciplinary and centers the humanities: it would be culturally-responsive, involve web design, include Spanish content to cater to Spanish speakers, and use storytelling to amplify Latinx narratives.
About the team
Adriana Gonzalez- Chavez is a journalism major and she is passionate about sharing the experiences of the Latinx community and providing a form of representation for Latinx youth. She cares about disparities that affect minority communities and especially in regards to education. She wants to find ways to encourage Latinx youth to attend secondary education and overcome disparities.
Lynette Hrabik is a Political Science and Sociology student with a minor in Philosophy. She believes in education’s ability to empower students and foster their personal and professional growth. Through the Humanities Lab, she seeks to apply her interests in research and advocacy to help Arizona students of color reach their educational goals.
Nithya Raman is an Economics and Political Science student. The Humanities Lab has informed her about the various methods to build educational pathways for students of color. She intends to apply her research skills and experience navigating the college application process to empower the LatinX community to realize their educational goals.
Joseph Rotella is an Mechanical Engineering student who has experience with computer science, website building, and research. He is interested in using website building to help make the higher education journey less daunting for students, particularly for those in low-income communities who have limited access to educational resources.