Elk Grove group inspires Latino girls to reach for college

A few years ago, the idea of going to college was just a dream for Jessica Sanchez, Gaby Vaca and Alma Rios. No one in their families had gone to college, there was little money to help them and they didn't know how to prepare.

Now, after only a few months in the Girls Involved in Real Life Situations club at Elk Grove High School, they and other students are talking boldly about graduating from college as lawyers, teachers and psychologists.

Since the fall, when G.I.R.L.S. was formed specifically for first-generation college-bound female students, about 17 girls meet weekly to discuss their struggles, successes and goals for the future.

“We talk a lot about our personal lives and how we can overcome challenges we face,” Gaby Vaca said. “Just the fact that we're Latinos, we're the first generation going to college, we're women, those are all already challenges.”

According to the most recent state school report cards, in 2011, 28.4 percent of Elk Grove High School's 2,074 students were Hispanic. That's a higher percentage than any other District 214 school and higher than the state average, both of which are about 23 percent.

Which makes the school a good place for adviser Kimberly Reynolds, a third-year teacher, to try out the G.I.R.L.S. concept. Her plan is to grab girls early in their high school careers so they can have the benefits all four years — taking the classes to prepare them for college, learning from the older students and making postsecondary plans.

Club meetings focus on activities, like analyzing transcripts, mock interviews, creating resumes, college information seminars and parent meetings, the latter offered in Spanish.

“Since they're first-generation college bound, a lot of their families are very involved but don't have the firsthand knowledge to necessarily help their students with everything,” Reynolds said.

Most of the girls come from homes where Spanish in the first language, and many do not have the Internet at home, said Valerie Norris, assistant principal for student services at Elk Grove High School, pointing out that many college resources and applications are best accessed online.

Having Reynolds as a bridge has been helpful for families who may feel overwhelmed by the college process, which is mainly in English, Norris said.

“It's amazing how the school can offer so much and we still have students who feel like it's not for them,” Norris said, adding G.I.R.L.S. is the first group of its kind in District 214. “Our ultimate goal is to change that mindset and show them we believe in them.”

Reynolds went to Harper College and then Illinois State University, so she is familiar with the advantages of community colleges as well as a four-year university.

Ultimately Reynolds said she would like to expand the program to a districtwide level.

“I feel like I'm learning from them just as much as they're learning from me,” she said.

With the help and focus from the other girls in the group as well as Reynolds, Vaca, a junior from Des Plaines, said she wants to be a psychiatrist.

Sanchez, a junior from Elk Grove Village, wants to be a lawyer. She said the group makes her feel comfortable having high goals and eliminates her doubts about the future.

“Whenever I have doubts or questions, I can ask Ms. Reynolds or other girls in the group,” Sanchez said.

“I feel proud of myself because my parents want the best for me. They want me to be something professional, and I think going to college is going to benefit me,” said Alma Rios, a sophomore who wants to attend a four-year school and become a math teacher.

“I'm going to be a role model for my younger brother,” she said.