Born in Visalia, Calif., Emily Prieto grew up in a predominantly Latino culture centered around tight-knit families and a strong work ethic.

Citing her mother and father as her inspiration for getting her doctorate, she eventually learned there were some things her parents didn’t teach her.

While attending the University of California-Davis for her bachelor’s degree, Prieto noticed a difference in the ethnic dynamic of her classrooms.

“Why were there so few Latinos on campus,” she asked herself?

It was a question that perplexed her even while she was getting her master’s degree and continuing with doctorate programs, also taken at UC-Davis.

“I was very invested in my education,” Prieto said. “A lot of times [at UC-Davis] I was the only Latina, and especially when I got into graduate school. In my PhD program, I was the only Latina in my cohort, so I felt very grateful that I had the opportunity to be there.”

After receiving her doctorate, Prieto came to NIU in hopes of finding an answer to the question that has eluded her for so many years. Last year, at just 27-years-old, she became the director of the Latino Resource Center, where she teaches and mentors students about their cultures. One way of doing this is through programs specially designed for Latino Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.

These unique programs are of the utmost importance for a student in any level of study, according to recent U.S. census data, found at http://www.trpi.org/PDFs/John%20Attinasi.pdf.

The studies show for every 100 Latino elementary school students, only 52 graduate from high school. Of those 52, only 31 enroll in college. Of those 31, only 10 graduate from college, with only four earning a graduate degree and fewer than one earning a doctorate.

Prieto said the main concern among students is filling the expectations. Targeting students before they reach the college level, the Center sends mentors to area high schools on a regular basis.

Jose Iniguez, recruitment, outreach and retention coordinator for the Center, organizes and oversees workshops at DeKalb High School every Wednesday. Striving for his master’s degree, he feels it is important for students to have a positive role model in their lives as well as an understanding of their lineage.

Born in Chicago but raised in Mexico, Iniguez knows the impact celebrating such a month can have on a youth.

“When I moved back to the United States, I was in eighth grade, and I had really negative encounters with the American culture,” Iniguez said. “My whole pride of being a Latino was down.”

Iniquez also said “… my parents were always teaching me to be proud of who I was, and that gave me the power to understand who I am.”

Iniguez said one common misconception about Latino Heritage Month is that it is only a recognition of Mexican Independence Day, which is Sept. 16. But Iniguez feels the celebration runs much deeper in that it is a month dedicated to the awareness and understanding of the Latin people worldwide.

There are students who do understand the importance of the month. Many started at the Center and have gone on to earn degrees in higher education, Iniguez being one of them.