Ashleigh Manuelito is like a lot of minority students when she sees a university classroom as a way to better herself, her family and the people she will leave behind while she gets her degree.
“I see a future in college, a way to beat the odds,” said the 16-year-old Navajo from Flagstaff, Ariz.
Colorado universities that have traditionally lagged in recruiting minorities are hoping to snag young achievers like Manuelito, who one day hopes to perform open-heart surgery for ailing members of her tribe.
Colorado State University recently hosted Manuelito and several other American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian high school students in a five-day crash course on the college application process. The program is sponsored by College Horizons, founded in 1998, which is a precollegiate program for American Indian students.
African-American and Latino high schoolers also visited the CSU campus at the start of the summer and were given a taste of the college academic and social experience.
The same scenario will be repeated all summer at the University of Colorado and the University of Northern Colorado as the schools try to boost the number of minority students on campus. Many of those students, say officials, will be the first in their families to try for a college degree.
“For them, their motivation is probably a little different than those who have had family members go before them,” said Christopher Pacheco, director of CU’s precollegiate program. “It’s a source of pride for them and their families.”
Officials say the effort is needed to diversify college classrooms in a state that is becoming home to more and more people of different ethnic backgrounds. Colorado is likely to become one of seven states where minority children will outnumber white children in the next decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
CU’s precollegiate program immerses young and talented middle school and high school students in an intensive academic course load over five weeks. Applicants must carry a 2.75 GPA to qualify for the high school program. They also must be the eldest child in a one-parent household.
Those types of students will offer different and coveted viewpoints in classrooms and help bolster enrollment, said Robert Boswell, CU’s interim vice chancellor for diversity, equity and community engagement.
“Being the state’s flagship university, this is an opportunity for us to provide a service to the state,” he said. “And we hope the students have a good experience here and they will return.”
There are signs that some inroads are being made to entice minorities to Colorado’s campuses. CU enrolled 4,082 minority students last school year, which is a record number.
CSU, meanwhile, enrolled 869 low-income students in the fall of 2010 and a record 740 racially and ethnically diverse students. This makes the total 3,600. CSU should increase the number of minority students to the 800s this fall, said Jim Rawlins, CSU’s executive director for admissions.
“I think collectively as a state, we could do a better job of bringing in more diverse students,” Rawlins said. “But I think we are doing better. And we help our position by being welcoming to everyone and treating the students who are already here well and with respect.”
Morgann Box, a 17-year-old Southern Ute from Bayfield, said she liked the CSU campus but wants to keep her options open as she considers a career in medicine.
“I just want the best experience possible and learn as much as I can so I can bring help back to my town,” she said.
Meanwhile back at the CU campus, potential first-generation college students are reading schematics and learning to use a laser cutter in a pre-engineering course taught by professor Melinda Picket-May.
“To see these experiences open up for them, it’s just fantastic,” Picket-May said.
The work suited Karl La Borde, 17, who wants to one day open his own business and make music sound boards.
“College is something I need to make that happen,” La Borde said. “It’s something I need.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
CLARIFICATION: The total number of low-income and ethnically diverse students at Colorado State University is 3,600, including the 1,609 who enrolled in fall 2010.
