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This month I have a guest blogger – Hugo Najera, College Academic Advisor at the LAYC. Last weekend I was having brunch with my friend, Marcy Campos, who is the Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Service at American University. She told me that she just had the most wonderful class speaker, Hugo Najera, who is a College Academic Advisor at the LAYC. She said he did a great job and the students really enjoyed his presentation. So, I am pleased to have Hugo Najera serve as my guest blogger this month. I asked him to blog about his presentation at American University and to share his thoughts. Thanks Hugo for inspiring students at the LAYC and at American University!
By Hugo Najera
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with a class of undergraduates taking a Service Learning course at American University, per request by Marcy Campos, director of the Center for Community Engagement and Service. With a career background in diversity and leadership work as a higher education administrator, I was eager to contribute to Ms. Campos's class, and share my experience connecting my work in higher education with college access for our youth at LAYC. My eagerness was also fueled by my connections and history as a first-generation college student, and Salvadoran-Guatemalan American from D.C. This would be my opportunity to give a more detailed sense of our history in the D.C. area. The students in Ms. Campos's class wanted to learn more about the realities of service learning, find out what was not written in the books, and gain advice on how to empower youth. The conversation gave the opportunity to give some advice to our future leaders.
Students asked if I advocate for community colleges, how I dealt with students who face personal and social obstacles, and how to effectively engage with youth. Some of these questions come with baggage, community colleges are seen by many as not academic enough, or perceive engagement with youth as a charity because they are surrounded by drugs, bad influences, and unstable homes. Students wondered how you show the path to college amongst these formidable barriers. My response was that you shouldn't come to the table with a specific stance; but ground your suggestions from the conditions, views, and experiences of the student. This student-centered approach keeps you focused on your mission, and places the role of community colleges and family-life in a more objective light. For instance, one advantage that community colleges offer is in teaching and competencies of instructors, as many bring in direct experience of the fields they teach. This ability for teachers to speak on their own work in the field can be the type of connection needed for a first-generation college student who wonders why they need to take classes if they can just go directly to work. Developing significant relationships with students is the essence of our work. An educator should utilize this relationship as the text for learning. One gains deeper understanding of the individual and can make recommendations and counseling interventions more congruent.
A student-centered approach can also empower youth to be sources of knowledge and growth. The higher education field spends a lot of time ruminating about the education pipeline; how to bring in students from underrepresented populations to the classroom. Studies upon studies highlight retention efforts, content reflective of students' contexts, and inclusive campus environments as valid attempts to provide a smoother transition for first-generation students. Yet, it has been the students who have given me a better sense of what are the tools for success along the educational pipeline. In my conversation in Ms. Campos's class, I spoke about the many experiences students share with us. I sometimes feel we address personal and social matters more than collegiate preparation. Hearing these stories challenges me to make connections between their everyday to higher education. As I listen, I make purposeful responses that challenge students to move away from their comfort zone and to a collegiate mindset, and keep the value of their experiences as the basis for their success. A student's dedication to family, sense of duty, and critical view of the inequities of their world serves as the launching pad for development and collegiate pathways. A wonderful guide to develop a student-centered approach is Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In his book, professor Freire's proposes a "liberation education" where traditional views of teaching (I know nothing / teacher knows the answers) are replaced with student-teachers and teacher-students. Acknowledging that our youth bring lessons and tools for success validates their work and sense of navigation that many of us have forgotten long ago.
These lessons may seem basic and "been there, done that." But, we must continually revisit our work and values in order to become better educators. We should practice what we ask of our youth, to reflect, to critique, and to make steps to grow. Speaking with students at American University provided the opportunity to evaluate my trajectory and learn a bit more about myself in order to teach others.
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