About 45,000 books were given away free to children and students at the 7th Annual Feria de Educación hosted by CSU Dominguez Hills, Univision and the CSU Latino Initiative on Oct. 3.
The books were meant to express the importance of the pursuit of higher education. This was greatly emphasized to Latino-Hispanic communities who are underrepresented in high academic institutions.
Balloons and cheers filled the fair as Latinos who have successfully climbed up the social class structure returned to help kids and students with resources to move forward into the working field.
Univision and some of their journalists and crew like Oswaldo Borraez, Gabriela Teissier, Claudia Botero, Alejandro Mendoza Guillermo Quiroz, Annabelle Sedano, Erika Flores, Sandra O’Neill, Antonio Valverde and Diana Alvarado all came to speak and praised the students in the crowd for their educational persistence.
“It’s important that we be involve in the education of our children,” said Borraez “Dedicate the time to teach them literacy, the importance of knowing at least two languages and let them have access of their culture.”
Luis Patiño, vice president of Univision, welcomed everyone and began the ceremony by saying that the event’s purpose “is to give our community resources they need to triumph in this country.”
“It is our social responsibility to motivate students to explore their possibilities and to help them encounter university status,” he said.
There were a lot of scholarship opportunities given to both citizen and non-citizen students. Wells Fargo, a sponsor, contributed by awarding Latina students Ruth Abarca and Jessica González with $5,000 scholarships to help fund their tuitions.
Workshops and panels made families aware of free or low priced resources like Internet access.
Maria Alvarez, director of Latino content and outreach for Common Sense Media, works with Univision to help find low privileged families find get connected to internet databases.
“Internet to some Latino families is a luxury, ” said Alvarez. “But it is a common necessity for students and especially those in college.”
Alvarez continued by saying that outreach also help Latino parents understand how relevant it is to have computer literacy skills of their own, by raffling out two free laptops.Many universities and colleges also attended their fair to help interested students how to properly complete applications with ease. Universities also helped students recognize that there are programs that help with financial costs.
Jocelyn Ramirez and Ahuixchel Lopez-Engelmon, student workers at PCC’s transfer center, taught high school students the opportunities Pasadena City College has to offer.
“We’re her to help students learn to join programs like Pathways, EOP, learn of priority registration and mentors,” said Ramirez.
Maria Espinoza, a high school student at Hawthorne High School said she felt encouraged by the fair.
“This fair has convinced me that attaining a university education is possible for someone who is undocumented like me,” she said. “That really relives my fears of applying because I never want to economically burden my family.”
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