As a little girl, Fatima Vargas' parents encouraged her to pursue higher education, determined that she would achieve what they could not. 

 

“They always emphasized that they would do everything in their power to make sure there were no barriers to our learning,” said Vargas, a Trevecca alum.

 

Vargas now holds both her bachelor’s and master's from Trevecca, placing her among the 8 percent of Latino adults with an advanced degree, according to Pew Research Center. As more Latino students pursue higher education, they are becoming an important part of the U.S. workforce. Latinos contribute an estimated $4 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP), making it the fifth-largest economy globally, according to Forbes. 

 

Immigrant-origin students are also driving growth in higher education, accounting for 5.6 million enrolled students in 2022, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal.

 

Trevecca plays a role in driving the Latino workforce as students enroll and prepare to graduate.

 

University President Dan Boone said he has seen this trend at the university.

 

“When I came in 2005, we were 7 percent, minority students. Now in our traditional undergrad, we're 44 percent minority students. The largest group of that is Hispanic students. The growth of Trevecca has been impacted by that positively,” said Boone.

 

Boone sees students contributing to the economy by finding jobs.

 

“There’s a lot of entrepreneurial work that goes on in Nashville, so that growth of the economy just provides more job opportunities for students,” said Boone.

 

As students graduate, many enter careers that lack representation. 

 

Vargas works at a school as a family, school and community coordinator, helping them find support and resources.

 

“I'm only one of the three people that speak Spanish and almost half of our schools speak Spanish, our families do,” said Vargas. “It's important for me to really show up and represent my community in these leadership spaces, whether that's at school, whether that is at my church or on the streets.”

 

For Vargas, breaking generational cycles remains important despite uncertainty within broken systems.

 

“Our past generations came to this country, and there was less representation and less opportunities for people, for Latinos, to maybe break those cycles. I think now that this whole new wave of first-generation students are [here]. They're the ones breaking the cycles and opening the doors for entire families,” said Vargas.

 

Latinos often feel pressure to prove themselves in spaces like higher education and the workplace.

 

“I walk into a space, and I'm like, 'Will they like me? Will they approve [of] me? Will they validate my credibility and my studies?" But it's like, no, I matter, and I show up, and I take up space and it's okay to take up space,” said Vargas. 

 

Although Latinos positively contribute to the economy, immigration enforcement continues. 

 

According to the National Immigration Law Center, mass deportations could reduce GDP by more than 7 percent over the next three years. U.S. citizens would have 2.6 million fewer jobs if they succeed in deporting 4 million people in the next four years. 

 

“The number of studies that have been done that demonstrate that immigrant populations actually improve the economy of the nation and their cities, and to still have people sitting in Washington, D.C., and even here in our state government trying to figure out ways to drive immigrants away, it just makes no sense,” said Boone. 

 

Vargas said that seeing hardworking people be separated from their families despite their contributions is unfortunate.

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It is fear that leads to misconceptions about Latinos, she said. 

 

“Fear that we're going to take the jobs, that we're not contributing, that we're just taking resources, that we're taking up space. When in reality we're contributing to the economy, we're contributing to science, to medicine, to all of these things that people are doing, but it's just passed down bias and prejudice,” said Vargas. 

 

Boone said this has made it harder for Latino students as they try to pursue their education, knowing that there is something pushing against them. 

 

However, it’s a challenge that educates them, he said. 

 

“I’m amazed at how they persevere in the middle of the challenges that they have,” said Boone. “I actually think that level of perseverance may make them better people in the workforce because they've already faced challenges that other people don't.”

 

Vargas wants Latino students not to give up. 

 

“Continue to build and to continue to contribute to the society and that they matter,” said Vargas. “We matter, and we deserve to be here.”