SCOTTSBLUFF - With each manila folder and statistical printout Rick Cantril pulls from one of his office's many gray filing cabinets, his claims become all the more believable.
A guidance counselor at Scottsbluff High School, Cantril knows a thing or two about the problems his students face because of their town's location - especially when those students are Hispanic.
Just a 30-minute drive east of the Nebraska-Wyoming border, Scottsbluff stands as the Panhandle's final point worthy of bolded font on a road map.Made up of nearly 15,000 people, the nearest neighboring town boasting anything much more than a local grocery store is more than 40 miles in any direction.
As a result of its seclusion, the ambitions of potential college-bound high school students often revolve on working with what's around them. Only 16.7 percent of Scottsbluff citizens over the age of 25 earn a bachelor's degree or higher, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
And in a town where Hispanics make up roughly 23 percent of the population, Cantril expressed concern about many Hispanic students' attitude toward higher education.
``A lot of times in Hispanic cultures, families are the No. 1 priority,'' Cantril said. ``Sometimes getting a good education can be seen as (the students) are leaving their family behind.''
In many Hispanic families in western Nebraska, college is a decision consisting of two blunt options: either a child grows up expecting to go, or has no intentions of going whatsoever.
``With a lot of the Hispanics I've known, it's pretty cut and dry,'' said Aldo Gonzales, a lifetime Scottsbluff resident and father of two college graduates and a college-bound high school senior. ``It's either you're going to college or you're not. There aren't too many fence riders.''
Despite the predetermined outlooks, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has been looking to knock down the wall standing between many Hispanic students and higher education.
Extensive efforts are made by the university to not only connect with perspective Hispanic students but also their families, said Amber Hunter, assistant director of admissions and multicultural recruitment coordinator at UNL.
By going through an admissions counselor who resides in the Panhandle, UNL is actually able to initiate more one-on-one contact with students in western Nebraska than students in the Lincoln and Omaha metropolitan areas.
Hunter, who has made three visits this year to schools and community programs out west, said being able to interact with students across the state helped UNL become a feasible option for students deciding their college plans.
In 2005, UNL sent more than 200 faculty and staff members to the Panhandle in attempts to help connect with western Nebraska students at the University Big Red Show at the Gering Civic Center in the town of Gering.
``I want to make sure that people around the state of Nebraska know that their community is important to diversity recruitment,'' Hunter said.
David Burge, associate director of admissions, said UNL's admissions counselor in the Panhandle is in charge of a student pool about half the size as recruiters focused on other parts of the state.
But while interacting with students has been beneficial, the issue of connecting with families - Hispanic families in particular - has taken a little more effort.
One of the attempts UNL makes to further involve families is mailing hand-written letters to parents that help simplify the college process by breaking down the necessary steps into more manageable tasks.
The university also employs multiple bilingual admissions counselors and organizes bilingual campus visits, and Hunter said the university generally looks at each community to determine how it precedes with its recruiting programs.
``Family is key to the recruitment process,'' she said. ``I think it's almost more important to talk with and make sure family members understand the college process as much as the students. We want to make sure the family is comfortable with the college choice, too.''
Along with attempting to make college a more acceptable decision for students' families, UNL has been faced with the challenge of luring western Nebraska students away from the closer out-of-state universities.
Hunter said through outlets such as the Melvin W. Jones Scholarship, created to recruit and retain minority students to ensure a diverse student body, UNL tries to provide its own family environment for students from western Nebraska.
As a result of its efforts, Hunter said UNL has seen an increase over the years in the enrollment of Hispanic students from the Panhandle and expects the trend to continue with specific programs and contacts the university has made.
While there is reason for optimism for UNL's increased reach to Hispanic families in western Nebraska, reversing the idea college is out of reach for some students is one of the tallest barriers to furthering that success.
``We have come a long way in the past four years,'' Hunter said. ``When I first came to Nebraska, UNL wasn't even on the mind of a lot of Nebraska minority students. Now, we are not only on their minds, for many students we are their top choices.''
