Creating the College Dream

The Center for Diversity & Enrichment focuses its mission on providing current students with resources, leadership training, and necessary skills to help make their collegiate careers successful. Another goal is to recognize the necessary importance to instill the "Go-to-College" message to younger students so they understand that attending college is possible for them. On March 6, 2012, Christian Sandoval and Catherine Martinez, undergraduate students, and Beth Ripperger, Master's student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs Program, traveled to Iowa City's South East Junior High School to discuss the importance of going to college. These are three students who identify as first-generation and/or Latino/a students were part of a panel facilitated by Gabriela Rivera, Program Specialist, at the Center for Diversity & Enrichment. The 8th grade students asked various questions such as the activities on campus, types of degrees, how students afford college, difficulty of classes, personal journeys, and even what a typical day was like for a college student. The student panel openly and honestly shared their personal stories, experiences, and struggles they encountered throughout college. The student panel instilled the message that going to college is not only a dream to begin thinking about, but it is also something that they can achieve.