Publication date:
08 May 2014Length of book:
176 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersDimensions:
237x162mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9781475802429
Hanging Out and Hanging on: From the Projects to the Campus chronicles the progress of students from Hartford and Manchester, Connecticut, who are enrolled in the Dual College Enrollment Program (DCEP) at Eastern Connecticut State University. “Hanging Out” sets the stage for describing the program by first reaching back in time to tell of Dr. Núñez’s own beginnings in Puerto Rico and Newark, New Jersey, of her struggles as a non-English speaking elementary school student and her triumphs in high school and college. The next section of the book describes the lives of Latinos in Connecticut and the social, economic, and educational challenges they have faced over time. Her personal experiences and desire to improve the lives of the underprivileged led Dr. Núñez to create the DCEP Program. Through the words of faculty and staff and the personal accounts of six DCEP students, you will read stories of desperation and hope, of struggle and triumph, of heart-breaking failure and stunning success. We hope their story can serve as a model for other communities to follow.
Hanging Out and Hanging On is a compelling and engaging book. By combining socioeconomic background and personal narrative, the author humanizes the statistics and contextualizes the personal struggles of the students whose lives she documents. Nunez adds an additional dimension to this work by describing some of her own struggles and explaining to the reader how she has used the insights from her life to construct an effective program to support student success. Listening to the students’ stories allows the reader to hear the power of a liberal education working firsthand in these students’ lives. Their minds open to growth and insight as they describe their journey through the university. This book should be read by anyone who is concerned about the success and uplift of all students who struggle with poverty and stress in their own families and manage to succeed as college students in spite of the challenges.