"When the family is behind the student, students are more apt to complete their degree," say Joy Garcia Tien, associate professor of counseling at HACC's Lancaster Campus. "We've discovered that, over time, this can be particularly true in Hispanic families. Circulo Familiar allows us the opportunity to reach out to the Hispanic population and talk about higher education. We hope to help students, their parents, guardians, spouses and children further understand the academic expectations as a college student."
Guests can meet with other Hispanic/Latino students and their families, and also teachers, mentors and community leaders in this informal and free event on Monday, September 18, beginning at 6pm at the Spanish American Civic Association, 545 Pershing Avenue in Lancaster.
A panel of community leaders will share their expertise about the challenges the Hispanic community face in higher education. Those on the panel include Gladys Canizares, vice president of Sovereign Bank, Lourdes Vazquez, principal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Lancaster and Ana Paulina Gomez, acting director, Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs. Featured speaker is Carlos Graupera, executive director of the Spanish American Civic Association (SACA), who will speak about trends in education.
"We looked for a way to reach out directly to members of our community and found, with SACA, that we could do it without people having to go far," said Tien. "We can also provide child care during the event and free bus transportation through RRTA for our HACC students and their families.
"We know how important family can be for students in college. They are a main source of support for students to succeed. That's why we invite not just students, but their whole support system so they too can understand what we offer in support of student success: financial aid, checks on academic progress, test taking skills, basic computer skills, child care and more."
Attendees will hear first hand from students and graduates who can share their similar experiences. Current students will talk about how they overcame some of the hurdles they encountered in order to continue toward a college degree. Graduates will speak on their goals and what enabled them to succeed and graduate.
"This is the first Circulo Familiar event with entertainment, refreshments and door prizes," said Tien. "We wanted to make it fun and at the same time provide the information to make it worthwhile. We intend to offer regularly scheduled workshops down the road that hopefully will help more people understand that a college education is attainable."
For more information about Circulo Familiar, contact Joy Garcia Tien at HACC's Lancaster Campus, (717) 358-2988, or send an email to her at the email address below. You can also click on the Website below for details. For information in Spanish, contact Irma Alicia Villarreal, (717)358-2988, or you can send an email to her at iavillar@hacc.edu.