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Chica Who Cares: Laura Saldivar

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Meet a modern day superwoman. A Senior in high school, Laura Saldivar has a resume most college grads wish they had. Before the age of 17, she implemented teen driving safety programs in Illinois through several educational outreach programs. As an advocate for service learning, the implementation of several safe driving outreach programs, like the Jacobs Safety Initiative, has helped reduce the number of youth fatalities in motor vehicle accidents.  The Jacobs Safety Initiative led to the creation of another safe driving program in Qatar, a country which, according to Laura, has the “second highest car accident rate per capita in the world.” With an impressive and extensive resume, the road towards success has not been so easy. “Acquiring support from administrative staff has been difficult”, says Laura, but she advices teens to “start searching, go for it, and don’t be afraid.” With hard work, passion, and determination, any teen can follow in Laura’s footsteps and be the next modern Superwoman. Here’s what she had to say when asked about her accomplishments, dreams and advice for teens:

1. What influenced you to become heavily involved with driving educational outreach programs?
With car crashes becoming the number one killer of teens I felt it was imperative to create prevention programs in my community. If I am able to save just one life I have done my job. Also, having a parent that is a driver’s education teacher, I have seen firsthand the impact car crashes have on families.

2. By being involved with so many organizations, what valuable lessons have you learned? How have they helped shape who you are today?
With being involved in a variety of groups like Youth Service America’s Youth Council, I have been able to gain multiple life skills. I can now write grants and budgets for projects, public speak, create presentations, and have self confidence. Before starting my service work, I was a shy student and service-learning is really what broke me out of my shell. The opportunities that have been an outcome of my work are truly incredible. I am able to travel the country, I helped to start a teen safe driving program in Asia, have been a keynote speaker, helped to write a civic blueprint for my state, and have had my own TV show all before the age of 17. My different boards have helped make me the leader I am today and have helped me to spread my message of teen safe driving to a broader audience. I am now able to help other schools around the country start their own programs and also gain the support of my fellow board members. The networks formed on national youth councils help to sustain and better youth programs.

3. You’re a busy young woman with an impressive resume, how do you handle the stress and find time to do it all? Any time management secrets?
With all of my time commitments I always keep a planner by my side. This not only has helped me keep track of my service work but has also helped me a lot in school. It keeps me very organized and if I miss a day of school for a service event I always let my teacher know in advance. In addition, I always make timelines for projects. As silly as it sounds, it helps my projects to run smoothly and it helps me to stay on track with project planning. It is small organizational tricks like this that help keep me afloat!

4.What are your plans after high school?
After high school I think it is only fitting for me to continue my safe driving work! I hope to attend the University of Illinois and create my own major in Community Leadership and Civic Engagement. I hope to one day open my own center for car crash victims and to work for either the National Safety Council or the Department of Transportation.

5. What advice would you give to girls who want to implement an educational outreach program and events at their local high school?
For starting a project in your community it is very important to start small! First, determine a need within your community and a find a group of youth who are also passionate about this issue. Next, it is important to find an adult sponsor or mentor who will help guide and support your program. Since your program will be primarily youth led, it is important to determine what resources are available and what community partnerships you can form. These partners can help you measure your results of impact and help to sustain your program for following years. Youth Service America is also a great resource when it comes to funding and finding different service opportunities. Their online newsletter contains a variety of service grants that youth can fill out. Most projects can be free and be community donated items. It might also be beneficial to include different classes at your school to help you solve the issue. (Ex. Safe Driving: Business Class- brochures, Math-Statistics, Art- safe driving posters, band- safe driving school song, drivers education-create PSAs, etc.)

6. How can other Latinitas become more involved with the community?
Another way to get involved within your community is to log onto gysd.org. GYSD is one of Youth Service America’s major projects called Global Youth Service Day. This day is the largest service event in the world and reaches over 100 countries. By logging on to their website, you can find local projects in your area that you can help out with on April 20-22, 2012. This website also contains an online toolkit that will help guide you in the creation of your own projects. This year I am helping the Illinois Students Against Destructive Decisions Student Advisory Board to implement a project called Dome Shift. We are inviting all of the SADD chapters in the state to a series of workshops on different issues and then letting participants meet with their representatives. All in all, when joining different nonprofits, they can help support your program and train you to learn even more.
Laura Saldivar, photo courtesy from Discusawards.com.

Filed Under: Girls, Her History for Girls, Super Stars for Girls

Being Smart Rules

April 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) are booming and on the rise, with an estimated increase of 20.5 million jobs between 2010 and 2020. While we hear a lot of news about the poor state of our economy  and the job market, STEM fields offer that glimmer of hope for a brighter future and better economy. With science and math opening many doors, it would be easy to assume that many intelligent chicas are jumping on the bandwagon, right? Wrong.

Despite the rapid growth, according to the United States Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration, women “hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs.” What a boys club! What causes women to have such a low percentage? According to the same study, there are several factors taking place, such as “a lack of female role models, gender stereotyping, and less family-friendly flexibility in the STEM fields.” When it came to confidence, the American Sociological Association found men were more confident than women in the field of engineering.

Minority women consist of “less than one in 10 employed scientists and engineers.”  Girl Scout Research Institute found: “Hispanic girls say they have just as much interest in STEM as Cauca­sian girls, but they have had less exposure to STEM, less adult support for pursuing STEM fields, lower academic achievement, and greater awareness of gender barriers in STEM professions.” This means that chicas in STEM need a strong support group. It is time to quit reading how bad the situation is for Hispanic women in STEM and start doing something about it. We can open many doors by using these three simple words: si se puede/ Yes, you can.

With a si se puede attitude,  Jo Marie Duran found her inspiration to explore STEM by being involved  with the Health Professionals of America (HPA) at her school. “Being interested in the medical area was very easy because I always loved to help people and what better way to help by being a health professional. Knowing that you have the ability to learn how to save someone’s life is exciting and scary…They  [scientists] require courage and a sense of confidence in what they do… I never thought I had the chance to gain that medical mentality without being in my health profession program.”

Here are a few resources to start your STEM adventure. Check them out:

STEM Connector and Popular STEM Opportunities.
STEM Connector is the ultimate search engine for students, teachers, and parents interested in STEM opportunities. Programs like the Health Professionals of America and Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) are two out of numerous opportunities nationwide that give a chica that extra boost to succeed and be more involved in a STEM related area. Programs like NASA and FIRST are paving the way for STEM in teens. NASA has numerous opportunities for future engineers and scientists. On the other hand, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Technology) is revolutionizing the field of robotics. Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST, states FIRST creates a “culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.” Fortunately, FIRST is a nationwide after school program, which means there numerous hosts, teams, and events throughout the country. Check the local listings for any team or event.

Girl oriented programs are on the rise.
Nerds are cool. There’s even a female nerd movement, created by Nerd Girls, where it is chic to be a geek.  Girl Scouts do more than sell delicious cookies, they are heavily involved with STEM.  To top it off, NASA’s Women in STEM High School Scholars (WISH) is a girl-only program dedicated to work on a NASA mission alongside other participants, NASA engineers, and NASA scientists, via a virtual and onsite program. Want to learn more? Thankfully, the American Association of University Women provides a list of resources for women and girls interested in being involved with girl-oriented organizations. Chicas unite!

Check out local library and school clubs.
Going out of town to take advantage of STEM opportunities may not always be easy. Local libraries, schools, and non-profit organizations offer workshops and camps year round. Some schools offer magnet programs, like HPA/HOSA.  Leave the “I can’t find it” attitude behind, the opportunities are out there.

Don’t limit yourself to just one area.
The beauty of STEM is that it is HUGE. Broaden the horizon and avoid falling into one area. The stereotype of STEM jobs solely being scientists, mathematicians, and lonely nerds is long gone. STEM is booming and it is time for girls everywhere, not just Hispanic women, to increase the percentage of women in STEM. Yes, we can!

Filed Under: 411 for Girls, School for Girls Tagged With:

College Money Tree

March 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Paying for college may be more nerve-racking than opening college admission letters! Speaking from experience, it is a trial and error process that cannot be avoided in order to reduce or eliminate college debt.  With a wide range of scholarship opportunities available, it is entirely possible to throw out the saying “money doesn’t grow on trees” and create your own money tree.

Follow these tips towards creating your own money tree:

1. Fill out your FAFSA!
Start from the root of all financial aid by completing your FAFSA form. “Fill out the FAFSA as soon as you can! The earlier you submit it the better. It’s super easy,” excitedly exclaims Cassandra Barraza, a 20-year-old college student at the University of Texas at El Paso. The hardest part of filling out the FAFSA is sitting down to do it. The entire process takes approximately 20 minutes to fill out, but it is easy since each question has a helpful tip. You only need your parents’ income taxes, it’s that simple. Even FAFSA understands the procrastination habits of students. They released a new IRS Data Retriever tool, which automatically retrieves information from your parents’ income taxes. Cool, right?

2. Tick-Tock, don’t waste time:
Avoid procrastination! Failure to search for financial aid sources will only lead to the worst case scenario, debt. Loans are the final alternative when personal funds are lacking. The more you neglect searching for scholarships and grants, the chances of missing out on opportunities to receive FREE money will increase. Yes, FREE MONEY! Search and apply early to reduce inadequate or poor essay responses, missed deadlines, and to relieve the stress of having to do everything in one sitting.

“Space it out, it’s better that way,” advises Cassandra. “It’s a long process, but it’s worth it. Start early and keep at it, just find the time to do it. There’s tons of stuff out there.” Apply to as many scholarships and grants as possible starting as early as your junior year in high school. For those who procrastinated on applying, take Cassandra’s advice and “apply, apply, apply! Just because you graduated doesn’t mean you missed the boat on scholarships. You can still apply as a college student to reduce debt.”

3. Research, research, research! Apply, apply, apply!
According to a  Sallie Mae and Ipsos report, 33% of student funding came from scholarships and grants. Grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid and the sheer amount of academic and non-academic scholarships there are can secure your college dreams. There are quirky and unique scholarships out there, like for vegetarians and  duct tape prom dresses.

Who does not like free stuff? No one!  Sign up for free services like Fastweb to see what scholarship, internship, and grant opportunities are out there.  In 2007 and 2008, the average student debt was $23, 186, which means several people have to pay close to $200 a month for student loans. The only definite way you will not receive any form of free aid is by not applying.  Any size scholarship can help. The less YOU pay the better, right?

4. Embrace your ethnicity and cultural heritage, apply to minority scholarships.
Minority scholarships are on the rise. The  Hispanic Scholarship Fund is one of the largest supporters of making college dreams come true. Their comprehensive list of Hispanic scholarships and Latino College Dollars search engine are useful tools for creating your own money tree. Actually, you can practically create a forest by the sheer amount of scholarships they offer.

HSF.net offers educational tools and resources for families and students and they are not alone in ensuring Latinos achieve success in higher education.  Hispanicgrants.net and Chci.org/chciyouth also offer extensive resources for Latino students in high school and in college. The resources are available, take advantage of them. For a comprehensive list of the most popular Latino scholarships click HERE.

5. Most important tip of them all, create a financial aid plan.
In 2011, a College Board study found “public four-year universities charged residents an average of $8,244, up 8.3% from [2010], while public two-year schools charged an average of $2,963, up 8.7%.” Be smart with your money and form a realistic budget by managing your expenses, spend wisely, create a spending plan, sort your priorities, and, most importantly, manage your debt.  Avoid the ramen noodle college diet; be wise with your dinero.

Filed Under: 411, College, Teens Tagged With: , , ,