Stepping out of comfort zone allows K-State multicultural student to embrace, develop better appreciation of cultural heritage

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Source: Patricia Rodriguez, 620-655-2213, pati2@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Keener A. Tippin II, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Monday, November 13, 2006

STEPPING OUT OF COMFORT ZONE ALLOWS K-STATE MULTICULTURAL STUDENT TO EMBRACE, DEVELOP BETTER APPRECIATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

MANHATTAN -- A record number of students of color, 1,699 to be exact, have enrolled at Kansas State University this fall. That's up from 1,652 a year ago.

The increase was led by students who identified themselves as Hispanic or Mexican-American.

Patricia Rodriguez, a K-State senior in agricultural business, Liberal, grew up immersed in her culture in her hometown, which she affectionately refers to as "Little Mexico." Her parents, who are originally from Mexico, raised her and her three siblings with all their Mexican cultural celebrations and traditions.

Rodriguez said attending K-State has given her an even greater appreciation of her culture.

"There are a lot of opportunities here at K-State," Rodriguez said. "I think it is good to step outside of your comfort zone, if you grew up like me in a 'Little Mexico.' If I would have gone to a school like Texas Tech, where the Latino population is a lot greater, I may have not appreciated my culture as much because it would have been more common and in the norm. Coming to a university where it isn't the norm, it really makes me embrace my culture."

Rodriguez said that coming from Liberal, where the population is 60 percent Hispanic, to Manhattan, where the Hispanic population is between 2 percent to 3 percent, was a big change and culture shock, but that she has adjusted well.

"I would say my first semester at K-State, fall 2005, it was pretty difficult," she said. "I was very used to my culture being around me 24-seven, always being around people like me. But coming to a new environment, change is good

Rodriguez found a sense of home in K-State's Hispanic American Leadership Organization, also called HALO, of which she is now the president.

"HALO really brought out my culture in me even more than I would have ever thought," Rodriguez said. "I was born and raised in the United States so a lot of people say, 'well you aren't a real Mexican because you were born in America.' I don't think that is true because my parents are from Mexico and they did a very nice job of teaching us the culture and traditions. I still eat tamales and menudo when I go home for Christmas.

"But HALO has really enlightened me about what it means to be a Hispanic student on a university campus, what different opportunities are out there for Latino students and helped me, overall, to grow as a person," she said.

Despite gains made in diversity and a continued growth in the number of students of color across the nation, Rodriguez said multicultural student organizations such as the Hispanic American Leadership Organization still have a need on predominantly white college campuses.

"Diversity counts," Rodriguez said. "Culture brings so much to a campus workplace. There is no one common race; we are not all going to have the same foods and traditions. I think it is important that we learn about each other's cultures and really take pride in knowing other people."

In addition to her work with the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, Rodriguez also serves as a multicultural student ambassador, recruiting and encouraging potential students of color to come to K-State.

The feeling of seeing of student of color you recruited to the university is irreplaceable, Rodriguez said.

"We are all here for education," she said. "Sticking together and helping one another makes the process worth investing your money in a university like K-State. Learning from someone that is not like you, and learning different cultures, I think that is important everywhere -- in the work force or at the university level."