New program mentors first-generation Latinx students from rural communities

At the heart of the Drillfield, 16 multilingual high schoolers from rural Virginia made immediate connections with Virginia Tech Latinx students this fall.

The moment marked the start of a new mentoring program to inspire higher education possibilities.

“We found that Galax High School has one of the highest percentages of English-learning students in the state as well as a below-average graduation rate for English learners,” said Deirdre Hand, community engagement specialist for the Center for Rural Education and the Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies. “After talking with Elizabeth, she noted that these students needed mentors to show their options after high school, beyond physical labor jobs.”    

The program’s kickoff on the Drillfield capped over six months of extensive planning between the two centers and Elizabeth Stringer-Nunley, who has been the English learning lead for Galax City Public Schools for over two decades. Together, they developed the Galax Mentoring Program, a plan aimed at keeping students engaged in their studies while exploring higher education opportunities. 

“My goal for this program is to encourage students to graduate high school. But I feel like what is being created will go much deeper than that, even with the program just beginning,” Stringer-Nunley said.   

The program takes an one-on-one approach, with each high school mentee pairing up with a Virginia Tech Latinx student mentor, and also includes mentoring "familias," made up of four mentor-mentee pairs.

The call for mentors went out in August with simple criteria: Prospective mentors needed to be of Latinx descent with a genuine desire to help students complete their high school educations. Once mentors applied, they went through an interview process to confirm they were the right fit for the program and an orientation with mentoring tips and ways to navigate challenging conversations with their mentees.

“The dynamic between a mentor and a mentee is so important,” said mentor Andrea Mariscal-Guzman, a graduate student studying public administration. “Supporting high-risk and minority students and being there for them to help them get where they should be can make the biggest difference for their future.”    

Many of the mentors have connected with this program on a personal level. Not only does this project give them a chance to give back to their community, but it also allows them to connect with and support younger minority students who have similar upbringings and are experiencing the same challenges that they did when transitioning from high school to college.

“I wanted to show them that I am someone like them who got through the hurdles and opened up opportunities for myself and that they can absolutely do the same,” said mentor Jackie Chavez, a graduate student studying industrial engineering.

The program consists of monthly visits to the Virginia Tech and Galax campuses and weekly Zoom sessions between the mentors and mentees, where they can ask questions about each other and talk about life plans after high school and the resources available to get them there.  

“As a first-generation student from a rural area, it was rare to go to college, so I had to figure out everything as I went and I'm still finding out things that I wish I knew before college,” said mentor Neiver Morales Perez, a first-year student studying business management. “The resources may be out there, but having someone there to mention them would have helped me back then, so I want to be that person for the students now.”

Despite the program’s newness, it has already made a significant impact on both mentees and mentors. 

“Three months in, and I'm already seeing differences in the students,” Mariscal-Guzman said. “When they started, college wasn't a goal, but that's already changing. It's incredibly fulfilling as a mentor to see this progress in such little time, and I'm excited for what lies ahead for both the students and the program.”  

Throughout the spring semester, Galax students will dive into deeper conversations with their mentors about grades, credit accrual for graduation, passing critical high-stakes assessments, and college, all while seeing what Virginia Tech offers during campus visits.   

“There's so much potential in these students, and I knew that from the beginning,” Chavez said. “They don't think these resources and opportunities are meant for them, and we are here to remind them that's simply not true.” 

Looking ahead, project organizers plan to continue the program after the spring, hoping to eventually expand into middle schools and other rural areas in Virginia.

“I knew how important our goal was, and it just completely exceeded our expectations,” Hand said. “We want this to be an ongoing partnership and provide support for students that might hope to go to college but are not sure if it's possible for them.”