405: 7 Cosas Que Las Familias Latinas Deben Saber Sobre Cómo Prepararse Para la Universidad / 7 Things Latinx Families Need to Know About Preparing for College (Spanish and English Versions)

Ethan Sawyer  0:08  
Hello friends, and welcome back to the podcast Hola, amigos y bienvenidos al podcast. Today's a really special episode in that it's bilingual, so the first part is going to be in Spanish and the second part is in English. My guest is Lorenzo Gamboa. He's the director of diversity, inclusion and outreach at Santa Clara University, and we're talking about some of the things that he believes Latinx families should know as they prepare for college. Voy a son. Episodio especial, porque es bilingua. La primera parte va a ser Espanol, y la segunda parte in English. Deja me termina la introduction in English. So in this episode, we discuss a variety of misconceptions that families sometimes have, including the notion that students have to major in a high paying profession or career, the myth that undocumented students can't go to college. And we talk about whether or not students should discuss race or cultural influence in their college essays and application post the Supreme Court's decision to ban affirmative action. So if you want to listen to the English part, just fast forward to basically right around the midway point of the episode where you hear me speaking in English. Quick side note that we had some tech glitches in the audio when we recorded. Sorry about that. But hopefully you enjoyed this conversation.


This is the transition from the Spanish to the English section. And if you're not bilingual, just know that we mostly kept the content the same. My guest is Lorenzo Gamboa, the director of diversity, inclusion and outreach at Santa Clara Lorenzo is originally from a very small town with just eight graduating seniors in his public high school class. He's familiar with the assumptions and fears that one may have when considering leaving town for college, and he aspires to clarify the daunting experience for other first gen students that he once faced himself. He holds a BS in economics from Santa Clara University. An MA in Mexican American studies with a concentration in immigration and higher education from the University of Arizona, an MBA from Santa Clara, and he's currently working on his EDD also at Santa Clara.


Lorenzo, Hi, welcome to the podcast. It's an honor to be here, man. I'm so glad to connect you to this way. We've been talking about this for a long time. One of the things that I don't think I know about from you is how you even got into admissions in the first place. 


Lorenzo Gamboa  24:32  
Great question, man, you know, it's one of those life adventures that you just don't even know. You know exists, let alone that it could be a profession. I actually ended up as a first generation student, you know, going into the path of education and then going straight into the workforce right away, because that's what I thought college was about. So I ended up in international sales, actually, for my first career, traveled internationally quite a bit, and then came back. Was an engineer in Silicon Valley, doing. Take Off engineering, but then, having graduated from a Jesuit institution, I was invited to come back and talk about the ethical conflict of your profession and your personal values. And on that panel, one of the questions was like, How do you feel when you go home and having grown up in Colorado on a ranch in mother nature, all that stuff, it was just like, you know, a ton of bricks hitting me. And so came back and reflected, and I was like, wow, you know what? Like, yes, I am a great engineer, and I could do great take off and do all this stuff, but at the other day, I'm ruining Mother Nature. And I could be the best engineer in the world, but I would never be able to bring her back. And so somebody in the panel was like, wow, have you ever thought about the world of admission like we're hiring? And I said, What is admission? And they said, Well, you basically get to talk about the stuff that you just did now and try to convince students about higher education. And they said you could use all your skills, like engineering and business and what you do and for the betterment of society. And I was like, Okay, let's try it. I thought I was gonna do it for, you know, couple months, and lo and behold, a couple months has now turned into close to two decades.


Ethan Sawyer  26:11  
Wow, I love hearing that. I'd love to hear a little bit more about in terms of your relationship with your family and education, what were the messages that you received growing up, 


Lorenzo Gamboa  26:22  
first generation kid. It probably is like, you know, the similar story, you need to try hard. Like, I don't want you to live the experience that I'm that you're having to see us go through. You know, we've worked hard to give you what you have and have access to take advantage of every opportunity. Like those were the pillars of, I think, every first generation family who says, like we're investing in you, so please take advantage of it. 


Ethan Sawyer  26:51  
I'd love to hear a little bit about what do you spend most of your time doing at work. In other words, what problems are you working to solve in your office? 


Lorenzo Gamboa  26:59  
What problems Am I trying to solve? I think the biggest thing that I work on every day is per my title, diversity, inclusion and outreach. I think my role in that is to pull back the veil of higher education, so that regardless of who you are, low income, high income, but even right now, middle income families who fear that access to education is becoming harder and harder for them. So for me is I work with all demographics, with all social economic statuses, with all realities higher education, and say, Hey, here's what's going on. But also, how do we take the experiences of what we've learned to promote access to the future. Now, what does that future look like?


Ethan Sawyer  27:47  
One of the things we talked about when we met, my gosh, it's been, I don't know, like, two years now, but we talked about speaking directly to Latinx families and busting some of the myths as it were, that are that are out there. So I'd love to take some time and just go through some of these. What are some of the myths that you feel like Latinx families run up against that can sometimes create barriers to higher education? 


Lorenzo Gamboa  28:14  
I think one of the biggest misconceptions is many assume and are afraid that they're just not gonna get into college that they don't have the right grades or the qualifications to get into an institution where they can make progress, right? So one of the things I really like to spread, especially with my experience now, is called like no in fact, they're trailing more seats available in colleges across the country, then there are actually students ready to apply for them right now.The real fact that many students don't realize is that college acceptance rates across the country actually hover around 70% so it is really in their favor to get into college versus getting out of the pool, and that's proven by research.com. Another thing is that, you know, there are well over half of the colleges in the country that actually admit more people that apply to them than they have to deny. So there is no real reason to believe that you can't get into college. In fact, community colleges. Many students don't realize this, but they don't turn away anybody. They do not they don't deny anyone to get into that pipeline of higher education. So if you want to go to college, there is a way for everyone. 


Ethan Sawyer  29:33  
Yeah, I think oftentimes students and parents are focused on that those highly selective schools, right? The ones that are in the rankings or in the news, and they forget, or they don't know that there are so many colleges out there, in some cases, relatively nearby, right, that are willing to take them.


Lorenzo Gamboa  29:54  
And I think you know, it's they don't realize that there's over 4000 colleges and universities in the country, and so. So we're all looking for very different and distinct things. Obviously, if you're only going to be pecking for the for the ones you hear on the news, well, yeah, it's going to be extremely selective, but open up your mind the opportunity at access, and there's many wonderful, wonderful institutions to consider. 


Ethan Sawyer  30:17  
Let's talk about money for a minute. A lot of folks feel like private schools are much more expensive than public schools. What do you say to those folks? 


Lorenzo Gamboa  30:27  
The reality is higher education in general is just crazy expensive now, however, what they got to keep in mind is that there are avenues of ways of getting money. Keep in mind that private universities actually generate their own revenue. And so I tell them, think about us as kind of a business, because I am of the private sector. So what we're looking for is students who really show us that they're the wise investment for the institution. So if you go to school, you do what you're supposed to, we will invest in you, and a private university sometimes seems way out of reach. Can actually become something more affordable, and sometimes even cheaper than some of the public options some students have based off of their student profiles. So I always tell them some privates, yeah, they can cover up to expected family need and even beyond that. But again, it comes down to what you have to put at the table. You do the work. You do what's needed. We will invest in you. You do the minimum amount of work well, then you invest in us, plain and simple.


Ethan Sawyer  31:30  
I don't know if you know this about me, Lorenzo, but I worked part time, you know, sort of on a volunteer basis, at a charter school in Los Angeles here, and most of my students were first gen. Many of them, you know, their families were low income. A big thing that came up was families worrying that, you know, when their kid goes away, they're going to lose touch with them. And this was something that I grew up with. I grew up I think, you know, that's a group overseas in Latin America and then in Miami, and it was constantly like nobody else had hired like, right, don't leave me. What do you say to those families who have that fear that their kid is going to leave them or they're going to lose touch with them. 


Lorenzo Gamboa  32:04  
I think that's a really great concern for a lot of families, and it just speaks volumes about like, how important family values are to them. But what I do tell them is that think about in today's society, who really loses touch? Everyone really has access to cell phones, FaceTime, zoom, all these other platforms that today facilitate contact, if that's what they're looking for. In fact, I always challenge them to try to tell me if they could find somebody in college who today doesn't have access to a cell phone, a tablet or a computer or something that they really can't get access to. The Pew Research Center found that 97% of college students in 2021 had access to a cell phone, let alone speed up to today, pretty much 100% of where students have access to it. Will they be at every family gathering? Probably not, but that's college, right? And that's the experience, since that's the value of getting out there, will they lose who they are? It comes down to their personal family values and culture and core values, but connecting family that I don't think will be ever an issue moving forward now you have a desire to get contact, you'll be able to make it. 


Ethan Sawyer  33:16  
Another thing that I've heard students struggle with and think about is their college major, what am I going to study? You know, some students worry, of course, oh, if I don't figure out what I'm going to study, then I'm not going to get in or, you know, if I don't have parents sometimes worry if you don't major in one of these, like, whatever, three to five careers, you're not going to get a good paying job. What do you say to parents when it comes to advising students on thinking about their major. 


Lorenzo Gamboa  33:43  
So especially in our Latino community, okay, as a Latino, you always think of the top right, the engineers, the lawyers, the teachers, the doctors, but we forget about all these other professions and opportunities to find but I tell my students and my families, is what you need to do is to actually major in something that gives you passion. That way, you don't start college and start with a sour taste of it and then drop out, like I want you to focus on something that you really, really want to do. Because what matters most about college is that you actually go in and get a degree, and you come out with a degree. Money is always going to come out of something that you're most passionate about. When people find that your passion aligns with what you're doing, they're going to follow you, regardless of what that is. So majoring for pay, that only brings frustration and this feeling of like not actually being fulfilled at the end of the day, and that's why people feel frustrated with life in general. In fact, experts always say that right now, 85% of the jobs currently are still even being invented for the year of 2030 so find what you're passionate about and make your passion fit into the future that you're looking for. Not make what is. Definitely part of success fit into what your future is going to look like. 


Ethan Sawyer  35:04  
Yeah, for those who are listening and interested in this topic, we have a different podcast with Laura Young from UCLA, who talks about the myth of the starving artist. So this idea that, for example, if you go into creative field, that you're not going to make money. And she debunks that with a lot of research and beautiful arguments. So if folks are interested in that, you can check that out. We'll have that in the show notes. 


Lorenzo Gamboa  35:26  
Definitely encourage you guys to check it out, because even in Silicon Valley, where we're located, the arts are big and thriving. We encourage all of our students, regardless of where you're at, to get involved in the arts. 


Ethan Sawyer  35:38  
The first episode that we ever did on this podcast Lorenzo was I did it with an undocumented student, and then the Part Two was with Elisa Gilbert, who works with undocumented students. And if folks are interested in learning more and you haven't heard those episodes, I encourage you to go back and check those out. But what do you say to families who are worried that you know, as an undocumented student, they're not gonna be able to get into college, they're not gonna be able to get financial aid? Get financial aid, those kinds of things. What do you say to those families? 


Lorenzo Gamboa  36:06  
Those are major and real, real concerns. And in fact, this is one of the topics that actually kept me in higher education, because when I was starting, undocumented students were barely hitting the sound waves of higher education. And so that motivated me to continue get involved in it. I come from a mixed status, family, household. I know what the realities this looks like. I've been heavily invested in this. My graduate degree is actually an undocumented students in higher ed helped found an organization called scholarships AZ that helps promote access to education been involved with educators for fair consideration, which is now immigrantsrising.org We promote heavily that education should be accessible to anybody, regardless of where you're at in the world. However, their realities is, yeah, it's challenging. However, again, regardless of citizenship, there should be access to opportunity to your education, if that's what you desire. Current politics of the country can make it a little more difficult for some people, but I always tell them again, look for the organizations and people who are willing to help and help you navigate this hard landscape. Never give up on any dream, especially if the dream is education, because also understand that undocumented students may need to work a little bit harder than the average student, especially as they're trying to open more doors. But again, keep asking questions, demonstrate that you really want it, and the opportunity will come 


Ethan Sawyer  37:36  
two more resources that I want to ping for you. Number one, we have a resource that's called 15 ways to support undocumented students. We'll put in the show notes and that resources for counselors who are interested to know more about this, but also for for students, and then students listening, I want to encourage you to talk to your your college counselor, or if they're organizations that are partnering with your school, for example, CBOs, sometimes they've got counselors who are really well versed in helping undocumented students apply to college. 


What about money? Let's talk a little bit more about getting funds to pay for education. What do you say to families who think of that as as the barrier and they think, I'm not going to have enough money to pay for my kids education? 


Lorenzo Gamboa  38:15  
This is a fear that everyone has, so you're not alone in filling this. Hundreds of families live with the same fear. However, we have a community, and I think in the Latino community, there's a beautiful thing that I love to reference, and that's this culture and idea we call Latina again, a rite of passage for our young ladies as they become adults, and it's a fairly big investment. And what's really interesting is that oftentimes, you know, we get to meet a ton of people and a lot of families, and they all, you know, want to invite us to these beautiful quinceanera celebrations, which is basically a major investment, just kind of similar to a wedding. And then year 13, year 14 comes around, and they're like, well, we're not going to make the quinceanera because it's so expensive. Instead, we're going to buy her the car of her dreams, or vacation of her dreams, etc, etc. While, lo and behold, three months before her birthday, quinceanera comes around, I get a invitation, and I ask myself, how did we do this? Well, in the Latino culture, we have this idea of madrinas and Padres supporters, sponsors, right? And we asked them to sponsor part of that festivity. Well, why don't we take that same model, that same idea, that same cultural pride, and as for madrinas and padrinos, for the enrollment deposit of my university experience, the first year of college, books for my college experience, or that scholarship, whether it be $500 or 1000 or 2000 what are they? They can do? And as for them to invest in your future, if we take that model.Imagine what we could do as a culture, as a community and promoting access to education. 


Ethan Sawyer  40:05  
One of the things that happened somewhat recently is the Supreme Court said that race can no longer be considered as a single factor in admission, and that students won't get a preference based on race. Does this mean that students should not talk about race or ethnicity, and their applications 


Lorenzo Gamboa  40:24  
lead them from bringing that up. I think this is one of the scariest moments of higher education that really is pushing students to think whether or not they should talk about and I would say not at all. The Supreme Court, or what we call SCOTUS, did rule on the fact that what they called Check the box was an illegal practice and consideration in reviewing applications. However, what they did fail to really understand is that the world of admissions is well beyond just simply checking a box like we recruit students for who you are throughout the high school experience, and not just because of what you checked off many other factors do go into this. So I encourage you to, please, do not be intimidated by this ruling. Please, please, please put down anything that you wish to discuss in your application. Your personal essay does not have to be about your race or ethnicity, if that's not what you wish, but there should be something in the application, whether it be a supplemental section where you can mention it, if that's what you wish to do again, you will not be admitted simply based off of a race or ethnicity factor. It is because of everything you're bringing to the tape. 


Ethan Sawyer  41:34  
So I want to go a little deeper here. One of the things that the decision said is that even though, you know, the court reiterate its opinion that the outright consideration of race as a standalone factor violates the 14th Amendment, but then they say at the same time, and I'm quoting here, nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicant's discussion of how race affected the applicant's life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university. End quote, so I'm curious. Can you think of any examples of times when students have talked about race, when they've connected it to a quality of character or unique ability, or for students who are considering this and trying to figure out what this means like, what are some even hypothetical examples of what that could look like in the application, 


Lorenzo Gamboa  42:26  
plain and simple, you all can think of depending on where you're at, what city, what state, what town, there's a good side and the bad side of town, right? We're not all cut equally. We don't all have the same exact resources. So depending on where you're at, you might be able to enjoy the whole foods, the Starbucks, the low crime rates, depending on the other side you're going to be walking across, you know, pawn shops and liquor stores and appearing for, you know, just having access to education, all of those things are factors that build into character that you all get to write about. So don't ever feel intimidated to tell us where you're coming from, what you're doing and how that brings joy to who you are. We mentioned earlier in the podcast about the quinceanera. That's a cultural experience that nobody can take away from. So feel free to speak about it. 


Ethan Sawyer  43:23  
One thing I want to note for listeners as well. If this is something that you're considering or something that you're thinking through. For students, we're going to link in the show notes to a guide. If you're thinking about writing about cultural influences in your application, we've created a resource that gives a lot of examples. You can look at how other students have done this, and like Lorenzo is saying here, you don't necessarily have to write about race, obviously, but if it has had an impact, and you can concretely tie it to a quality of character or unique ability, then it could be worth mentioning. It sounds like colleges care and Lorenzo in your conversations with other colleges, what is your sense of you know how the college admissions field is responding to the Supreme Court decision, just based on conversations you've had with other admission officers?


Lorenzo Gamboa  44:13  
This has given us a call of action to unite and to again, empower the students to realize like you really own your application. You have the ability to disclose what you wish. Yes, we are limited on now what SCOTUS or the Supreme Court has told us, but at the end of the day, we're not going to stop doing what we do, which is to try to educate the country's brightest individuals to take on the challenges of the future, and that future needs to reflect what our communities are becoming, and that is a multi disciplinary, multi ethnic, multi educated society. And so we want to bring you guys all to say, here we are, and we're ready to take on the future.


Ethan Sawyer  44:58  
Let's talk to counselors. College Counselors and folks who are working in CBOs. What message do you have for them right now? 


Lorenzo Gamboa  45:06  
Counselors are CBOs, I would say this is the perfect time to begin establishing an alignment to your mission and your goals and make sure that you find concrete partnerships to develop pipelines like we're all in the same game together. We want to promote access and opportunities. Now let's start building those building blocks together so we can expand that pipeline and make sure that our students are getting to college, but also getting through college, which is more important. 


Ethan Sawyer  45:36  
Well, man, that's a whole separate podcast. I want to do that one with you next. What message would you like to leave families with parents and students, 


Lorenzo Gamboa  45:45  
this is the most exciting part of your life, parents and students, you get to reimagine and redefine, but also be the pillars of what the future is going to become. So please, please, hopefully, this becomes an enjoyable experience for each and every one of you. Open your minds and the opportunities for what you have access to, and don't be afraid to reach out, to ask questions, because the more questions you have, the more job security we have. 


One of the things that many families don't realize is that you're not the only one on this adventure, right? So if this is something that is intimidating for you, connect with families that you already know in your school, in your school district, in your local community, and navigate this together like there's often times comfort when you're in a group, versus trying to do it by your own right. So I encourage you, go visit together, go ask questions together. But at the end of the day, remember, it is you student who is trying to get access to the next opportunity. So you should be asking questions, not your parents.


Ethan Sawyer  47:00  
What would you say to families, in particular, students who are nervous about reaching out to college admission officers?


Lorenzo Gamboa  47:08  
don't be nervous like we admission officers had to go through the same stage as you did. So just open up with that. How can I become you? How can I access your college what are you simply looking for? If they are honest and authentic admission officers, they're gonna really be there for you every step of the way, like we're very blessed at Santa Clara, I get to be an admission officer for the access of higher education, not just Santa Clara University. So we, yes, have the myths of becoming gatekeepers, but the reality is that we are also the people that could help you get to those gates too. 


Ethan Sawyer  47:49  
Lorenzo, thank you so much.


Hi, friends. Thanks again for listening. You'll find everything you need in the show notes, all the links to the resources at college. Essay. Guy.com/podcast. If you're not on our email list, we'd love to have you. We share lots of free webinars and resources pretty much on a monthly basis, but sometimes even more often than that, you can sign up at college sa guy.com. Be well and stay curious. 


Transcribed by https://otter.ai