| Hispanic youth welcome their UI ‘challenge’ |
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| Written by Jessica Mullins -Argonaut | ||||||
| Friday, 17 February 2006 | ||||||
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Note: Last weekend there were two recruitment events at UI. The OELA
Vandal Challenge conference and CAMPing at UI. This article is the
first in a two-part series highlighting the events. She had a stressful and sleepless night. After missing her flight to Boise, resolutely flying there via Seattle and renting a car to drive to Idaho Falls, senior Melina Ronquillo arrived at the bus right on time, at 6 a.m. She rode on the bus as it made its way to Moscow, stopping to pick up Hispanic high school juniors along the way. “I was so excited to meet them,” Ronquillo said. “I had been planning the event for over a year and talking to them since January.” During the 10-hour bus ride, she learned the students’ names and goals. The students were prepared for their “Vandal Challenge.” “They were so excited to see the campus,” she said. The 25 students arrived at UI on Feb. 9 for the OELA Vandal Challenge Leadership Conference. The four-day conference is to help recruit and retain Hispanic students at UI. Organización de Estudiantes Latino Americanos (which translates to “Organization of Latin American Students”) organizes the annual event. The first Vandal challenge was held in 1997. OELA adviser Juan De León Jr. said all the glory for the event goes to the OELA members. “It was a selfless effort,” he said. “They gave all that is of them.” Ronquillo, president of OELA, was involved in the entire Vandal Challenge, from the fundraising, to applicant selection, to spending every minute with the students during the conference. She organized committees in OELA to help with the planning. She created a strict conference schedule that included workshops, professor forums, campus tours, the Cornell West lecture at WSU and a president’s breakfast with keynote speakers. “Everything was jam-packed,” Ronquillo said. “They were always running around.” Forty-one Idaho high school students applied to the program. The selection was based on personal demographics, involvement, essay responses and references. “They are top-notch students who rose to the challenge of Vandal Challenge,” Ronquillo said. The need for recruitment programs Ronquillo participated in the event in 2001 from the opposite side. “I always wanted to go to college, but I didn’t know how to fund it,” she said. “I never would have had that opportunity.” At Vandal Challenge she toured the campus, learned how to get financial aid and was guided through the process of selecting a major. “I was in awe of the campus,” she said. Senior Monica Gallegos, OELA vice president, didn’t have the opportunity to participate in Vandal Challenge before she came to college. “When I came to college I did stuff on my own,” said Gallegos, from Prosser, Wash. “I didn’t know how to pick a major and wasn’t aware of resources on the campus.” A lot of students on the campus have similar struggles, she said. “What we do is so essential to UI,” Ronquillo said. “I’m very passionate for a higher education for these students.” De León said the program helps break the myth that a higher education is unattainable for some students. “It opens the doors of opportunity,” he said. “Many students face obstacles because of economics and lack of education.” This year’s Vandal Challenge was pushed from fall to spring because of lack of funding. OELA had to turn to university departments and grants to secure funding. The support from the university was in full force, Ronquillo said. “These opportunities are so few. When they come along we get great support,” she said. A tearful goodbye Ronquillo cried when she gave her goodbye speech to the group. “I had been their mentor for four days and wanted to keep following them and pushing them,” she said. “It was a great experience for me to see (that) it paid off and some want to come to UI.” The program showed the students their place at UI. “They were very eager to look toward the future and consider UI their home,” De León said. Gallegos chaperoned the students on the trip back to Idaho Falls. “The students told me they really cared for what were doing for them,” Gallegos said. “It makes me feel good and that it was worth it.” Gallegos, who stood by Ronquillo and De León’s side throughout the weekend, plans to have an even bigger role in next year’s Vandal Challenge. OELA will begin fundraising for next year right away, she said. “I’m worried, but it should turn out well,” Gallegos said. “We have lots of support.” Ronquillo, a psychology major with an emphasis in child development, will graduate this spring. She hopes to work in the school system and help with recruitment, she said. “I think it is critical to have bilingual recruitment,” Ronquillo said. “It is something I am passionate about and I have the opportunity to give to others.”  Add as favorites (64) | Views: 2338
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