Latinnovating: Green American Jobs and the Latinos Creating Them

Ahead of the launch of Latinnovating, I posted the “Two by 2020 Mentoring Challenge.” This is my wake-up call to all Americans, with shocking, absolute, meaningful numbers that truly depict the current crisis and future consequence of America’s fastest growing minority group being the least educated. It includes a prescription of what actions a mentor can and should take to change a young Latino life. Mentoring is the action that made the difference for many of us who were the first in our families to attend and graduate from college. A non-Latino (typically) mentor intervened, told us we had to seek higher education and guided us through the “how.” In my case, as in many, my mentor also helped me connect with funding sources. This knowledge and guidance made it possible for me to leave my small town in Colorado for the University of California in Berkeley. I went there on an Air Force ROTC scholarship which (thankfully) paid all out-of-state tuition, fees, books and provided a stipend.

Scholarship Cadet Graciela Tiscareño at U.C. Berkeley

Since my original blog post, this challenge suddenly got tied to the discussion surrounding the DREAM act, when a young, high-profile man came out as an undocumented immigrant. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Jose Antonio Vargas at a fundraising dinner at his alma mater last November at San Francisco State. That night we chatted about our creative projects and exchanged cards. During the event, we screened his documentary about the hidden AIDS epidemic in our nation’s capital city. I saw first hand how highly he is respected by all who know him and his work. I joined many Americans in shock the day this Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist broke the news in the New York Times about how he came to the U.S. as a child and how he learned of his immigration status.

Why this connection? It’s simple really. If you read my original post and take a moment to absorb the number of college graduates needed annually from the Latino community for our nation to remain competitive and educated versus other nation states (611,000) and compare to the number of Latino college graduates currently being produced (130,000), you can start to see how the DREAM act plays into this mentoring challenge.

Then, to truly be shocked, look at how many Latino high school students graduate each year (300,000). How many more would there be if we passed the DREAM act? How many more kids would START high school instead of giving up after middle school because they know they’re undocumented and feel there’s no hope and no future beyond high school?

My point is this: we don’t have any Latino students and brains to waste if America wants to seriously compete in the 21st century. We simply do not have that luxury.

Mentoring two young Latinos for the long-term, to ensure they graduate from college, is something many more Americans must do. As side show conversations and reform “attempts” continue, we lose more of our kids each day. To make a real difference, commit to this and take the Two by 2020 Mentoring Challenge. It’s the one thing you CAN do to begin to change a life, and the trajectory of that kid’s entire future and that of his/her descendants, forever. Mentoring is the only way that some of the stories in the pages of Latinnovating became possible. Read them for yourself; reflect on my story in first paragraph, then please jump in! Join me?

Today I was reminded that there are heroes among us, men and women who, more than most Americans, understand that young Latinos need mentors.

Dr. Ellen Silber is one such person. Read this story of how her program in New York is changing lives by connecting Latina mentors to young Latinas who desperately need them.

Then, find an organization like this and become a mentor. Take the “Two by 2020 Challenge” and change some lives.

This week I introduced my book at a Green Economy conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The very next day, I had the pleasure of presenting to my very first group of students in the nation, the students at Ellen Glasgow Middle School in Alexandria, Virginia.

Mr. Leonard, a retired fellow military aviator turned science teacher, arranged for me to visit. He heard about me and my book from Ms. Angela De Jesus, mother to a Glasgow student. Having heard me speak at the John Hopkins Carey Business School in the fall, Angela asked me to visit during the book’s East Coast debut.

“The stories of the innovators profiled in Latinnovating are of higher education, of innovation and of courage,” De Jesus said. “I asked Graciela to come to our school to give our students a larger vision of what’s possible in their lives. As she shares the journeys and accomplishments of these role models innovating in our emerging green economy, I know our students will feel motivated to follow in these successful footsteps. They’ll see what success looks like in the long-term.”

I signed books for the hand-picked group of kids that attended. It was a most satisfying day for me as an author. I am making my dream happen. I am getting my work, showcasing childhood-to-entrepreneurship stories, into the hands of those whose lives it will directly impact.

How do I know this? I received a Facebook message later that night, from the older sister of one of the students who received my book. In part she wrote, “My little sister came home with your book. I wish I had been there.”

Thank you Angela. Thank you Mr. Leonard!

Will your school be next? Contact me at (510) 542-9449 or grace AT Latinnovating DOT com and let’s get it on the schedule.