Hispanic college success: It's all in the family
RIVERSIDE, Calif.—When Roberto Rodriguez arrived at the University of California campus here four years ago, he felt the emotional tug home so many other Hispanic first-generation college students talk about.
Three years and some bumps later, with graduation within reach, Roberto's father suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with diabetes -- the kind of family crisis capable of derailing any college career.
But instead of becoming a dropout statistic, Rodriguez will graduate with honors this month from UC-Riverside, where graduation rate gaps that separate Hispanic students from their peers on a national level simply do not exist.
Studies show that more Hispanic students are enrolling in college, but a disproportionate number drop out with debt instead of degrees. At the average college or university, 51 percent of Hispanic students earn a bachelor's degree in