At Habersham Central High School, students are coming together to promote education amongst the Hispanic community and provide not only resources, but a sense of support as they work to eliminate barriers that hinder them from achieving academic success.
The Hispanic Organization Promoting Education, HoPe, a non-profit organization created to instill a sense of belonging for high school students, promote educational resources, and opportunities for Hispanic students, has now over 77 chapters across the nation, including one at Habersham Central High School.
Casandra Alvarez, 17, senior at Habersham Central High School and president of the chapter, said it was about helping increase graduation rates amongst Hispanic students.
“That is the mission, to create a sense of belonging amongst high school students,” Alvarez said, adding they also connect students with Hispanic leaders in the community.
“You get to meet people from the outside world and view their perspectives on college, their day-to-day life, their career,” said Paola Vera, 19, a senior at Habersham Central High School who serves as one of the legacy leaders for the chapter.
Vera said those real-world connections help expand the reach Hispanic students can have.
“Coming from a Hispanic household, we don’t have that, a lot of our parents don’t have connections in their work life,” Vera said. “It’s important because when you see other ethnicities, or other individuals, from an outside perspective, you say ‘how did they do that, why do they know that, or why do they have more support in their community?’ Just knowing you can build that connection and go back and ask for help. I feel like a lot of the time we are afraid to ask for help because we don’t know how to or who to ask for help.”
Alvarez said it’s beneficial to meet community leaders who share similar backgrounds to students.
“Around here, you don’t see as much diversity, so you meet a lawyer that is Mexican, you can feel like you can do that, they are inspiring us,” Alvarez said. “Just seeing them do it, it’s eye-opening.”
Representation matters, said Vera, who recalled meeting a State Farm Agent who spoke Spanglish, a hybrid language that combines words and idioms from both Spanish and English, and felt seen.
“When you see that, you see ‘Oh I speak that,’” Vera said. “You relate to them and that was eye-opening that you can also make connections with other people … you see yourself in them.”
When those gaps are bridged, it helps students continue on the path of pursuing an education.
“For me, applying to colleges was difficult but HoPe has an educational part of the club and they teach you how to apply to college, how to apply for scholarships,” Vera said.
Post-high school education is a big part of the chapter’s work, which ranges from providing information and resources on SAT testing, FASFA, application information, and scholarships, as well as helping provide resources for undocumented and DACA students.
The chapter also works to fundraise for their own scholarship.
“There are a lot of low-income individuals in the community, especially in the Hispanic community so our chapter is actually offering a $1,000 scholarship for a senior this year,” Vera said.
The Habersham Central chapter, which has approximately 44 registered members, also focuses on encouraging students to do well during their high school academic careers.
Alvarez, who has been involved in HoPe for four years, said it is rewarding to see the impact the chapter has had on its members.
“It’s so great having members come to me and tell me what is going on in their day-to-day lives and how HoPe has done this or this and that they can’t wait until the next meeting or the conference,” Alvarez said. “HoPe is so great in that we are all a family and we all go through the highs and lows together.”
With many students being first-generation and having immigrant parents, HoPe helps them navigate their high school academic career by breaking down important information they should know.
“I’m going to be honest, it was pretty easy because they provide us with monthly education worksheets and it is for each grade level,” Alvarez said. “On those they provide information. They provide SAT days, scholarship deadlines, they provide events for us to be a part of and for our parents to be a part of them too.”
Emily Pahuamba, 17, a junior at Habersham Central High School and a legacy leader for the chapter, said her mom is taking advantage of the resources provided by HoPe to continue her education.
“They offer HoPe for parents if they want to finish high school or go to college. My mom scheduled a one-on-one meeting … to finish school because she didn’t finish high school,” Pahuamba said. “It’s pretty exciting, it’s pretty cool. It makes me happy. My dad is also trying to get his citizenship but he has to take English courses.”
The opportunity for parents to continue their education and learn about resources has beneficial outcomes for their children.
“It’s exciting to see that the three of us are growing and learning together and it makes us closer,” Pahuamba said.
Chapter members also provide community service hours to help them connect with their communities and give back to their schools. Students have participated in helping with swim meets, open houses, parent nights, and more.
“It’s to build a connection because I think when you build a connection with your community, it helps you in the future and lets you know that there are people you can fall back on,” Vera said.
Helping introduce students to members of the community creates trust and closes the gap between the Hispanic community and other communities in the area, said Vera.
“It builds a strong connection, it’s about having a connection to the real world,” Vera said.
HoPe is open to all students regardless of their cultural background, said Alvarez.
“We want them to know that they have support and they can follow their dreams,” Vera said. “They can go to college like any other student. Especially undocumented students or DACA students, I feel like they are the most discouraged … but it is a refresher to see them trying and take advantage of opportunities they are given to follow their dreams.”
The HoPe Habersham Central High School Chapter is hoping to raise funds to help aid their goal of providing a scholarship to a senior and they encourage anyone who is willing to donate or provide sponsorship to contact Emily Pahuamba at epah2005@gail.com.