Photo galleries of the local Latino Graduates p 8-13

Follow us on Instagram @HolaAmerica March 17, 2022 18 SAUK VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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Yes, we can! Congratulations Graduates of 2022

Si Se Puede! This is graduation season and knowing that Latinos are getting into higher education institutions at a higher rate than before is a great reason to celebrate. Graduates today, future leaders with more chances to make things better for the Latino community tomorrow! Here is a piece of great news, statistics show that in the past decade Latino dropout rate from high school dramatically went down. According to the Pew Research Center, the dropout rate for Latinos was 32% in 2000, but by 2014 only 12% of Latino students of ages 18 to 25 years old chose to drop out of High School. Still, more improvement can be made because Latinos still have a higher percentage of dropout rate than blacks, whites, or Asians. Hispanic enrollment in college went up as well. According to the United States Census, “From 1996 to 2016, the number of Hispanic students enrolled in schools, colleges and universities in the United States doubled from 8.8 million to 17.9 million. Hispanic students now make up 22.7 percent of all people enrolled in school.” But more Hispanic students choose community colleges rather than four-year schools. Most of the time they lack the financial ability to attend four-year schools. Almost half of Latino college students are the first in their families to go to college. Due to the fact that more Latino students attend community colleges that have a lower cost than four-year universities, fewer Latinos struggle with student debt. More support for Latino students looking to graduate with Bachelor’s degrees would help the many students who struggle financially. At the same time, there are more scholarships and financial assistance offered to first-generation students now than ever to give them the opportunity to attend a four-year university. Let us celebrate our Latino graduates of 2022 today and tomorrow let’s work together on improving access to education for more Latinos and underserved communities. In the words of the icons Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta ¡Si Se Puede!