Members of Latinas Guiding Latinas aim to inspire students to pursue college

Several high school students sat at gleaming wooden desks, scribbling down lists of their goals for the future.

Off to the side, Ines Rivera reflected on how she never thought college would be in her future.

But Rivera, a senior at Theodore Roosevelt High School, which is about 18 miles from UCLA, said the student mentors of the UCLA student group Latinas Guiding Latinas changed her mind.

“It’s helpful to know (the mentors) were once in my place,” said Rivera, who plans to attend a four-year state university in the fall. “Even though it’s scary, I now know I can go to college too.”

Rivera is one of the many high school, middle school and elementary school students whom members of Latinas Guiding Latinas mentor every week.

The organization was founded 26 years ago as a group for Latina women to mentor other Latina women and to encourage them to pursue higher education, said Lucero Ortiz, a UCLA alumna and former member of Latinas Guiding Latinas.

The club’s financial situation has changed significantly over the years.

In its early stages, the club received its funding from the university, and was susceptible to an unstable, fluctuating budget. The group eventually became a nonprofit in 2002, which allowed it to have more financial freedom to accept tax-deductible donations from supporters and alumni, Ortiz said.

The club is now open to all ethnicities and genders and has expanded in membership,  and the number of schools it serves has increased from four to five over the years, according to Carla Ayala, the program’s executive director.

She said the number of students at each site varies, but there are about 40 members of the club, and about 105 students across elementary school, middle school and high school.

Members of the club travel to five different schools in the Los Angeles area, Ayala said.

At the schools in Los Angeles that Latinas Guiding Latinas travels to, the mentors try to stay away from traditional tutoring.

“They already get enough academics during the school day,” said Natalie Ceja, a first-year sociology student and a project director for the Theodore Roosevelt High School site.

The mentors tell students about college, but they also do activities about health, sexuality and theater, she said.

The club offers two to three $500 scholarships each year to high school seniors, and the members of the club raise all of the money for the scholarships themselves through bake sales and other fundraisers at UCLA, Ceja said.

Since joining the club, many high school students – not only girls –  said they have felt more empowered and have a better self-esteem.

Julio Barrera, an 18-year-old student, said he felt his shyness wane since joining the club. He said his increased confidence has helped him participate in class.

Ceja was drawn into the club in a personal way.

At the Enormous Activities Fair in the fall, a Latinas Guiding Latinas flyer with “Roosevelt High School” written on it caught her eye.

“My parents both went to Roosevelt; they met there when they were 15, and they’re still married,” she said with a smile.

But the mission of the club is what kept Ceja hooked.

Ceja said she wants to be a teacher, but Latinas Guiding Latinas has opened her eyes to the many ways in which she can be an educator.

Last Friday, Ceja helped to organize a prom drive for some of the girls the group mentors at Theodore Roosevelt High School.

Prom dresses of different bright colors and fabrics piled high on the tables and lined the walls of the classroom where the club met. The girls eagerly tried on a few dresses each.

Ceja said simply eliminating the cost of the dresses makes prom affordable for many students.

Alumni continue to feel connected to Latinas Guiding Latinas after graduating, because they believe in what the club represents – mentoring in every aspect.

Ortiz said she is a firm believer in the impact mentoring has on the community.

Although she graduated from UCLA in 2002 and moved on from Latinas Guiding Latinas, she said she is still involved in peer mentoring in Washington D.C., where she works as an attorney.

“I continue to (mentor) pre-law students and young attorneys,” she said. “(Latinas Guiding Latinas) got me started on that path.”

Latinas Guiding Latinas meets Mondays at 7 p.m. in the Student Activities Center.