Editor’s Note: The usage of Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x and Chicano/a/e/x is in accordance with the preference and language of the sources and/or organizations included in this story.
The 12th annual Feria de Educación opened with mariachi music and bustling volunteers getting ready for thousands of Latin students and their families seeking college assistance at Sacramento State Saturday, Oct. 5.
Commonly shortened to just Feria, the fair offered workshops and tours to families in both Spanish and English held by experts, students and faculty. The festivities ranged from workshops about business, to a literacy corner for young children. Workshops with an emphasis on getting students into higher education were also featured.
The goal of Feria is to provide a “culturally sensitive” environment and offer resources for Spanish-speaking parents and their children to succeed in California’s educational system according to the event’s website. During the opening ceremony organizers said Feria is the first step to finding a home for the Latin community at Sac State.
Jose Ballesteros, co-chair of Feria’s planning committee and the associate dean of Student Engagement and Success at Sac State, said that Feria is one of the few places for Latinx families to learn and adapt to an ever changing academic world.
“As we see now Latinos are the biggest group in the K-12 system, but our numbers aren’t really represented in higher education,” Ballesteros said. “We wanna make sure they get the current information and they fill out their applications correctly so they can get the help they need.”
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Lilia Contreras, one of Feria’s coordinators as well as coordinator for the College Assistance Migrant Program at Sac State, wants families to know that college is an option for them. She said that she hopes attendees can take with them the hope and knowledge they need to take that next step toward their education.
“It’s just huge,” Contreras said. “It makes a difference between someone deciding to go to school or not, [it] can be a transformative experience for them and their entire family.”
One of the biggest resources at the fair was the many workshops providing essential information for parents and students alike. Contreras said Feria has grown to include more than just CSU admissions information. For the first time, there were workshops held by faculty and students about college life after admission.
For parents like Diana Hernández, Feria is one of the few resources available to help them gather information about their children’s futures.
“It’s for my daughter, who is graduating high school,” Hernández said, “It’s so that she can study and have a career since I didn’t have that.”
Kimberly Gomez, program coordinator for the Dreamer Resource Center, led the “undocu-clinic” at Feria. The clinic offered a variety of immigration resources to students and families. Many community programs from the area were tabling to assist those with varied or complicated documentation statuses.
“The great impact about Feria is that it’s a bilingual, free fair that assists everyone in the community,” Gomez said. “I really hope they leave with hope and a sense of empowerment that they can go to college.”
Gomez said there is a noticeable stigma in Latinx communities against asking for help, especially when it comes to education. She says that fairs like Feria help combat that belief.
“Let’s destigmatize that. Asking for help is a sense of empowerment cause you’re seeking these resources for you,” Gomez said. “You can go to college, you can get resources.”
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Irene Gómez, whose daughter performed at Feria, says the education and representation is one of the most important aspects of the fair.
“As Latinos we often think that the less money we have, the less our children can attend school.” Gómez said, “In reality, that’s false, because the lower the income, the more opportunities there are for them.”
Feria is aimed at high school and middle school students, but also provides resources to transfers and life-long learners as well. Contreras said they’ve witnessed parents who are inspired to continue their education after coming to the fair with their children.
Organizers say they are looking to grow Feria every year. Contreras said she already has big plans for next year’s fair to further support the Spanish-speaking community.
“Higher ed was transformative for me,” Contreras said. “If we can plant a seed of curiosity and awaken the wonder, I think we’ve done what we’re here to do.”
