Hispanics in FIRST and Engineering

[GabrielaH]

I may not know 100% for sure, but I'm thinking some of the reasons as to why Hispanics are not joining FIRST and becoming engineering majors is often the language barrier, general lack of access to exposure and activities surrounding engineering, and lack of Hispanic engineer role models. Again, this is a generalization, and I'd like to know other people's thoughts on why there are not many Hispanics in FIRST or majoring in engineering.


So some solutions I've been thinking which those who replied have mentioned are below:

1. Showing the robot at predominantly Hispanic high schools (or middle schools)

2. Contacting Hispanic Organizations (such as SHPE) and helping at their events and conferences, and getting help and support from them, or partner to create an event

3. Contacting a nearby university Hispanic organization and help them at their events and conferences, get help and support from them, or partner to create an event

3. Showing the robot at Hispanics in engineering/STEM/etc... conferences

4. Spanish Media (newspapers and Univision)

5. Show the robot at Spanish-English bilingual preschools and coordinate activities with the students and their families

6. Summer camps

Thoughts? More ideas? Advice for how my team can accomplish these tasks? Great ideas so far, they are greatly appreciated. Couldn't find anything concerning this on any previous posts on CD.

[Shrub]

I have had the pleasure of meeting many Latino FRC/FIRST alumni, albeit all from the same team (or related to me). I think partnering with SHPE would be amazing, as I didn't even know SHPE was an organization until my senior year of high school. I also think a lot of work has to come from inside the teams - creating an environment where students of color feel safe. More often than not, I was in situations where people were surprised I was Latinx and immediately went to talking about how "amazing" my English is (which is a common microagression for people who know a language other than English) or more recently, politics. It's frustrating, especially if one is a high school student, for their identity to suddenly be a controversial topic when they are there to participate in FIRST. Creating positive team environments from within makes students who are marginalized want to stay because they know their teammates accept them.

I also noticed someone mentioned a language gap. In my experience, explaining FIRST to my family has always been difficult. I do not know if a language gap does play into Latino people and participation in STEM, but in my experience it has not inhibited participation in FIRST. I think if there are team materials given out to the public at regionals/events it would not hurt to translate them into Spanish or other languages commonly spoken in one's area. I am available to help translate into Spanish.

I know Univision might have a local channel if you live in an urban area, radio stations are also a great way to reach out. If you need any advice or help, don't hesitate to contact me.