A Latino parent recalls the UCLA Partnership Program bringing East LA and Compton students to campus in the 1980s, then urges other parents to let their talented daughters attend top universities instead of holding them back out of fear. He argues that a daughter's acceptance is a breakthrough for the whole family, not just her.
Now I've seen this happen in our Latino community over and over again. Brilliant young Latina daughters getting accepted in some of the top universities, sometimes with full scholarships, and their parents talk them out of going. Now, when I worked with the UCLA Partnership Program back in the '80s, we would bring students from East LA and Compton to visit the campus. And now we even created a summer program where they could stay in the dorms for just a week. And let me tell you, the hardest part wasn't the students, it was going to the parents' home, especially the moms and the dads of these young Latinas, and asking them to let their daughters go for just one week. I remember sitting in the living room, seeing the fear in their eyes and realizing this wasn't about school. This was about love. This was about protection. This was about what if something happens to my daughter? And I get it. I really do. But here's what I would tell them and what I want to tell every Latino parent right now. You didn't raise your daughter to stay small. You raised her to become something greater than what was available to you. When your daughter gets accepted into a great university, especially with a scholarship, that's just not her opportunity. That's your family's breakthrough moment. I know it's scary to let her leave home. I know it feels safer to keep her close, go to the local college, stay where you can see her. But keeping her close might protect your heart while limiting her future. Letting her go doesn't mean losing her. It means trusting that everything you taught her, her values, her strength, her corazón, is strong enough to carry her anywhere in the world. She's not leaving your family behind. She's taking your family to places you've never been. And one day, you're going to look back and realize that the moment you let her go was the moment your whole family moved forward. Now, if you're a parent struggling with this decision, comment "corazón." If you're a daughter chasing that opportunity, comment "I'm ready." And please help our Finanzas con Corazón community grow by following my page, liking and engaging, and be part of creating a movement where our families rise together.
