Here at Latino Educational Solutions we believe in building up and building out. 

What does that mean? 

It means that education should be a good that is accessible to everyone. 

Here at LES, we are proud that our work is grounded in theory, and a matrix of theories pulled from over a decade of programming and curriculum. We have been building up and building out, 

We are excited to have launched www.latinosgotocollege.com which houses all of our free college-going resources. 

The project brings LES into the next phase of existence, Looking forward as we continue to build up and out, 

Students and Parents check out www.latinosgotocollege.com allies and educators, do the same. It's a resource to be shared and the next project we are bringing to life here at LES for the betterment of all. 


Engage. Share. Help Make A Difference.

- The Team at Latino Educational Solutions

Soon, you'll start to receive your financial aid reports from various colleges and universities. A reminder that May 1st  the national deadline to pay your acceptance fee (the fee to reserve your spot at a college or university). 

As you start to open up the reports don't panic. It's great news if you have secured enough grants, scholarships etcetera to pay for school, but please don't panic. 

You can turn down all offers and/or  reapply the following year. It is called Gap Year- making sure to take no college classes that may affect admissions or financial aid decisions, 

You can ask the school for more money. More than likely they will not be able to grant more money, but there are exceptions. 

Apply like crazy for scholarships. This is where LES comes in. Follow us and stay engaged with us as we hold workshops to help you understand what all this financial aid jargon means and how you can best position yourself financially. 


Whatever path you choose, please choose wisely. As we always say: college is an investment of your time, talents and resources (money just being one of them.) 

As we start to prepare for our workshops in Columbus, Ohio- I am excited! Excited to be in the community and working with people and groups that are looking to succeed forward!  If you are looking for information for our events (please see the bottom of the blog post for fliers). 
With the holiday season upon us there are many things to be done and gatherings to be attended but I do hope you'll make time to join us if you're looking for help to go to or succeed in college. 

     Hello! We are excited to make a big announcement! We are teaming up with the Martin de Porres Center in Columbus, Ohio to offer general sessions followed by 1-on-1 mini appointments on Wednesday evenings in December. More details at the bottom of the post!
     This week, I want to talk about why community matters and you’re looking to apply for colleges or universities and how they increase in importance as you move through the college environment. Communities are where things happen, take place and many times where we find refuge. My advice to parents or students who are looking to go to college is be smart about the communities you build. Include the cheerleader, mentor and friend. Include people who will help you without any motive because they see themselves in you. These are the people you want to surrounds yourself with- those who believe in you and will fight and advocate for you to succeed. 
      Where do you find these people? In your own schools, communities and in unexpected places as well. I would encourage students to start with teachers who may have impacted through school or extracurricular. Coaches and counselors can be great resources too. Look for others that may be a good member for your community outside of your school like anyone who through work with religious affiliations and community groups.  Share you plans with them. You may even want to have them help you fill out the My Map to College Plan on the Students and Parents Resource Page.  
       Sharing your plans helps others see what you want for your life and can also help you figure out what you do and don’t want for your life. Build a relationship with them and start to ask them questions. By learning their stories you can learn what you would like to do and how you can avoid some of their mistakes as well. This is important because it allows you to see yourself in different position and build relationships with others who may have had different experiences than you.
      As you move through college, and life, you community will change. And that is okay- it’s expected. But at the end of your day, you community should consist of people who are in your corner, cheering you on offering your words of wisdom and insight that will leave you better in the end. Use these people to help shape your actions which will ultimately shape your character and who you become. 
     Let us be a part of your community! We will be visiting with students and  families who are interested in learning more about going to college on the following dates at the Martin de  Porres Center from 6:00pm- 8:00pm on the following dates: December 11th and 18th.  More information to be posted in next week’s blog update or you  can email [email protected] for additional information. 

     A lot of changes have been taking place behind the scenes at Latino Education Solutions. We have focused on growing and developing additional methods and opportunities for outreach to the Latino community and beyond. We are excited to work towards a better tomorrow by gathering and strengthening the ties that bond us within central Ohio and beyond. 
     In the parents and students resource guide page, we will be adding additional workbooks and files that can help in the preparing and successful completion of college for students and parents a like.  We are also re branding our podcasts to align more with our values. To be reflective the podcast series will dedicate now the first podcast of every month (beginning in November) to focus on sharing the stories from students who have attended and successfully completed college- to inspire the next Generation of Excellence. While it is important to know the how to apply college, pay for college, and develop healthy habits in college, it is also important to hold on to the strengths and successes of those who have come before us. From one generation to the next, we will share these stories to inspire you throughout your journey. 

The topic of the podcast for this week is ally-ship and myself and Robert Solomon delve into what or how this looks like in the higher education setting. 
      Varied are the ways that that students form communities while within the college setting. Alliy-ship is one of them and is the idea that individuals/people are capable of moving past differences and working towards commonalities for others. It is the idea that rejects the idea that just because I don't have the same lived experiences as you i can't find empathy and compassion when working with others. 
     As professor Solomon and I discuss ally-ship, we begin to delve deeper into the idea that perhaps ally-ship is merely a different lens, such as friendship, by which to view things.  Ally-ship, as we discuss, also tends to be a unifying phenomenon in nature.  Take a listen and consider the possibilities by which you can work to create, foster or champion ally-ship for yourself and others- for this may change your entire perspective on persistence and success within the area of higher education. 

**The podcast is available on our resource page for students and parents. 

As I have started to work and present for various groups,  I tend to split my work into two focuses- answering two questions. The first is how do we help Latinos get to college? The second and, for me the more important one, is how do we get Latinos through college? Because to me, if Latinos students are getting to college, but not making it through the consequences can be detrimental to their future. It's about student loans, returning home perhaps with a feeling of falling short etc. And it's also about the fact that educational demands are shifting and future jobs will require post baccalaureate training. 

I am starting to work with various groups to really focus on this: how do we (as individuals, communities, and institutions) help Latinos get through college?

The most powerful tool that we have to start, shift or continue the conversations is to delve deeper into what it means to be a Latino college student in 2017. For this, I recently sat down with Yamilex Molina, a senior in college, who shared with me her experience. She's a Latina, a first-generation college student and American. She's overcome a number of obstacles to fulfill her dream of walking across the stage during her college graduation ceremony.  Take a listen to the podcast on our students & parents resource page. Learn about how she has managed to push ahead and stay true to her dreams.  It's honest, raw and powerful. 

          I love to write and between my assignments and endless journals, I have written many words, strung together to make up sentences. But one of the sentences in a statement I wrote sticks out like no other "Sometimes getting into college proves to be a barrier in and of itself". There are many reasons as to why I remember this phrase, but perhaps the biggest reason was one that I was reminded of today as I read an article entitled, " A College Adviser in Every School".  
       The article itself shed light on college advising in high schools and the fact that there is more that can be done. And I don't imagine there is a single sentence in that entire article that I didn't agree with, but that isn't the point of this post. If you are a student, parents, educator, caring adult, I want you to know that it is in each other that we will find the answers we need to move on to the next level; whatever that may be. 
        One of the resources that I have in the students and parents section is called My Map to College and it is simply a booklet with phrases that are popular in the worlds of admissions, financial aid and college, While it provides some guidance, what it really provides is a key terms that you may want to consider when trying to navigate the process. But a hidden feature of the booklet is that it empowers the students and parents. It gives you the terms, but it's up to you figure out the reason why that term is important. And those reasons are different for everyone. 
        By providing the outline but not a checklist, students and parents have the opportunity explore how their experiences and situations fit within the scheme of higher education. The booklet also directly invites students (and their families) to seek the counsel of others, people they trust to help them build their map to college.
            So you see, maybe this theme of coming together, sharing our stories- our hopes- our dreams, can help change out outcomes of educational attainment of Latinos; one student at a time. 

     I am working on a putting together a workshop that encourages current high school seniors to apply for The Gates Scholarship and I keep coming back to the question that any students might be asking themselves: why should I apply?  This is my answer. 

     The Gates Scholarship is a fantastic scholarship as it will allow you to earn an undergraduate degree debt free, but even applying for the scholarship means more than that. If a student meets the qualifications of the scholarship, then they should apply, because why not? It's free- take the risk, take a chance.  It'll take you at most  two hours to complete the initial phase of the application. Everyone and anyone who meets the qualifications outlined below should create an account and apply for the Gates Scholarship (deadline September 15, 2017) because perhaps you'll be chosen and will be able to pursue your dream of going to college without  worrying about finances. 

      Don't let doubts stop you from rolling the dice and betting on yourself, because you might just be selected as a winner for this prestigious scholarship. So why not apply today?

      Still not convinced? Check out our FB page for details on upcoming Gates Scholarship Information Sessions which will be hosted in Columbus in the coming weeks. Attend to learn about the Gates Scholarship and how to apply. 

To apply, a student must:

• A high school senior
• From at least one of the following ethnicities: African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native*, Asian & Pacific Islander American, and/or Hispanic American
• Pell-eligible
• A US citizen, national or permanent resident
• A minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale

 Additionally, a student must plan to enroll full-time, in a four-year degree program, at a US accredited, not-for-profit, private or public college or university.

Application Deadline September 15, 2017

More information can be found at: https://www.thegatesscholarship.org/scholarship

The fear of the unknown is powerful. It can cause you to do what is necessary to succeed, or cause you to shut down and run. It's good old flight or fight that I'm talking about. 

Why am I talking about fear on a blog that's supposed to be about college? Because fear is one of the biggest obstacles you'll have to conquer in college, especially if you are a first-generation college student.  Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of your own power and potential. 

But the message of today's blog is to encourage you to push past the fear. To go for it- to try it anyways. 

And I think that's a message that a lot of students, especially high school students, don't hear. 

The other night, I was facilitating a workshop  and I happened to ask how many people were scared of college, and the conversation took off. Think about it. How many of you have heard "college isn't like high school"? How many of you know of atleast one person who went off to college and had to come home? 

College isn't a gladiator battle of intelligence, it's a process through which an indivudal (you) find the ability to confront an obstacle and overcome it. And the secret to being sucessful is realizing that you've already faced a gazillion challenges and have overcome them (at least enough to progress forward). And that's the honest, yet simple, truth. 

Take it from someone who has first-hand experience, and has literally advised hundreds of students: take the mountain (college) and break it up into smaller pieces (pieces or instances where you you make the best choice possible). 

It's about changing your  way of thinking and how you approach the situation, and this takes time and practice. And as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. 

At the end of the day, take stock of all the things you have accomplished in spite of fear. Asking someone out, running for student government, trying out for the team, etc. 

If fear didn't stop you then, why should it now?