Julia Barajas
I explore how college students achieve their goals — whether they’re fresh out of high school, or going back for the first time in years — and what support they get along the way.
My exposure to college began when I was a high school senior. In all my years of schooling, I’d never been assigned anything written by a person of Mexican descent, despite growing up in L.A. County. So when a brochure for East Los Angeles College appeared in my family’s mailbox, I tried out dual enrollment, and took an introductory Chicano Literature course. We read everything from Tomás Rivera’s “... And the Earth Did Not Devour Him” to Bernice Zamora’s “Notes from a Chicana ‘COED.’” And what I learned there — about writing, about history, and about myself — stayed with me. It informed my decision to major in literature and Latin American studies when I went on to earn a four-year degree, and it continues to shape the work I do now.
My hope is that all college students will get a similar chance to chart a course for themselves, guided by their own curiosities and ambitions.
-
The activists took on a range of issues, from LGBTQ healthcare to immigrants’ rights. -
Video footage can be used to keep government employees accountable.
-
Most community college students aspire to earn a bachelor’s degree, but few manage to transfer.
-
The state offers multiple pathways toward completing its requirements, but many students who enter the teaching profession still risk getting into debt, even before accounting for cost of living.
-
Students who started high school wearing face masks and testing for COVID-19 graduate in the midst of widespread immigration raids.
-
"We’re going to be imprisoned." One family’s experience in the Los Angeles ICE field office.
-
Undocumented immigrants and mixed-status families are learning how to assert themselves — and prepare for worst-case scenarios.
-
A two-week ban put Brook Haley's job in jeopardy.
-
Officials want to give local flora and fauna a chance to bounce back after the Eaton Fire. They also want to protect hikers from danger.
-
Borrowers who need to certify their employment have options.
