“I Didn’t Want My Life To Be Like That”: Gangs, College, or the Military for Latino Male High School Students

Abstract

Nationally, only half of Latino males graduate from high school (Contreras, 2011). Scholars are beginning to
critically examine the various internal and external influences which contribute to low academic achievement for
Latino males. This qualitative study uses a human ecological theory to examine how Latino male high school
students with high academic achievement understand and develop goals to attend postsecondary education versus engaging in gangs or the military. The findings highlight the students’ different levels of college preparation, interactions with military recruitment, and their gang connections.

Full text

Journal of Latino/Latin American Studies 2015, 7(2), 119- 132
“I Didn’t Want My Life To Be Like That”:
Gangs, College, or the Military for Latino Male
High School Students
Adrian H. Huerta
University of California, Los Angeles
Nationally, only half of Latino males graduate from high school (Contreras, 2011). Scholars are beginning to
critically examine the various internal and external influences which contribute to low academic achievement for
Latino males. This qualitative study uses a human ecological theory to examine how Latino male high school
students with high academic achievement understand and develop goals to attend postsecondary education versus
engaging in gangs or the military. The findings highlight the students’ different levels of college preparation,
interactions with military recruitment, and their gang connections.
Keywords: Gangs, College access, Latino males, Mexican American males, Military recruitment, High school
students
1The value of college access and completion
cannot be overstated for marginalized racial and
ethnic student populations. Various media
outlets stress the importance and need for a
college degree to gain the necessary tools for
social mobility and training to enter white-collar
professions (Lagemann & Lewis, 2011).
Although there have been various initiatives to
increase college enrollment for low-income
student populations through college outreach
programs, community-based organizations, and
access to federal aid, there still remains a myriad
of barriers for Latino male high school students
to gain and utilize the needed resources to
advance (Huerta & Fishman, 2014; Sanchez,
Huerta, & Venegas, 2012). One major challenge
for Latino males involves graduating from high
school; nationally only half of Latino males
complete high school (Contreras, 2011; Saenz &
Ponjuan, 2009). Access to higher education for
youth in urban spaces may be hindered by social
and environmental distractions related to gang
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Adrian H. Huerta is a doctoral candidate in Higher Education and
Organizational Change and Research Assistant for the Choices
Project: Access, Equity and Diversity in Higher Education at the
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His research
focuses on college access and success for young men of color with
a focus on Latino males. This study received financial support
from the UCLA Graduate Division and UC Mexus.
!
violence; association with, access to, and sale of
drugs; and under-resourced schools, which
provide the ideal combination to narrow the
opportunities for Latino male youth to believe
and develop college-going identities (Conchas &
Vigil, 2012; Huerta, McDonough, & Allen,
2015; Noguera, Hurtado, & Fergus, 2011; Rios,
2010; Vigil, 1999). Even when urban high
school students are offered honors and advanced
placement courses, the students’ confidence and
sense of college level preparation waver (Hallett
& Venegas, 2011). In 2007, only 34% of Latino
male high school completers enrolled in college
versus 44% of Latinas (Pew Research Center,
2013).
Vigil (1999) asserts that gangs and the
streets have encroached into urban schools.
Gang involvement may be a strong preventer of
college and career readiness; this area is under-
researched and needs further investigation for
Latino male youth (Conchas & Vigil, 2012;
Vigil, 1999). The significance of gang
participation is a major concern for Latino youth
because they represent 46% of the estimated
746,000 gang members in the U.S. (US Gang
Research Center, 2011).
Latino male youth who do not prepare for
college or join gangs may be aware of the U.S.

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military as an opportunity to finance
postsecondary education or gain the necessary
training to prepare for future blue-collar careers
(Huerta, McDonough, & Allen, 2015). Schools
have become the ideal space to recruit urban
youth for gangs and the military (Ayers, 2006;
Naber, May, Decker, Minor, & Wells, 2006).
Latinos represent between 10-15% of the over
one million service men and women in the
different branches of the U.S. military (RAND,
2009). Examining gang, college, and military
pathways for Latino male youth may help
explain the current conditions for this population
in the United States. Hence, the purpose of this
qualitative study is to understand how Latino
males attending one high school in Southern
California shared and used information about
gangs, college, and the military to influence their
post-high school opportunities.
Although only half of Latino males graduate
from high school, this work is timely in that it
explores the postsecondary opportunities and
experiences of Latino male high school students
who have college choice—an area that seems
especially important considering the current
context in which low high school graduation
rates negatively impact the ability of Latino
males to enroll in the military and become
prepared for two and four-year colleges (RAND,
2009). The U.S. military has responded by
exploring flexible eligibility standards for
Latinos in order to increase their participation
rates in the various branches (RAND, 2009).
Some community colleges require general
education development (GED) for enrollment
and federal student aid requires a high school
diploma or GED equivalent to reach eligibility
to receive any form of federal student aid.
Again, the aim of this study is not to focus on
the Latino male high school students who
struggle with school. Rather, I focus on those
who have a choice to attend college, exploring
how they collect and use information about
gangs, college, and the military. I begin with a
review of literature on Latino males and the
ecology model followed by a discussion of the
study design and findings.
The Pathways Used by Latino Males
The study is grounded in literature in three
distinct areas involving Latino males: K-16
education experiences, gang influence and
involvement, and the military recruitment. While
often considered in isolation, the presence (or
lack thereof) of opportunities to participate in
postsecondary education, gangs, and the military
influence the range of possibilities youth
perceive for their future. Further, each of these
systems tends to be in competition for Latino
males’ time, attention, and commitment.
Latino males in K-16. The social and
academic challenges for Latino males in schools
are multifaceted. One cannot point to a specific
educational moment and attribute Latino males’
failure to simply their home life, attending
under-resourced schools, or overrepresentation
in special education and school suspension
(Noguera, Hurtado, & Fergus, 2011; Rios, 2011;
Vigil, 1988, 1999). But the culmination of life
experiences and life context influence how
Latino males engage schools and feel supported
by educators, and how schools help shape
opportunities for low-income students.
Latino males enrolled in high school who
want to attend postsecondary education must
frequently depend on timely and accurate
information provided by school counselors
(Bonous-Hammarth & Allen, 2005; Plank &
Jordan, 2001). Unfortunately, high school and
college counselors often are unable to provide
the timely and needed information to students
because of their multiple administrative
demands related to scheduling, testing, and
discipline (McDonough, 1997). For some Latino
males, the support from college access programs
is the only way to gain the necessary skills to
achieve college admissions (Sanchez, Huerta, &
Venegas, 2012). College information does not
reach the students, including Latino males, who
are in the most need (Plank & Jordan, 2001;
Zarate & Gallimore, 2005). However, college
access programs are limited in their scalability
and resources to provide the needed cultural
affirmation racial and ethnic minority students
need (Villalpando & Solórzano, 2005).

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Simultaneously, some educators may
believe Latino males are disinvested from
schools because of their attitudes and posturing
toward street culture by “keeping it real,” which
is a performance of race, gender, and affiliation
to urban culture (Carter, 2005). This is not to say
all Latino youth share this posturing, but the
behavior may be an effort to avoid bullying by
gang affiliated peers who target academically-
oriented students (Conchas & Vigil, 2010; Rios,
2011; Vigil, 1988). Most of the literature on
Latino male youth focuses on their
disenfranchisement (Halx & Ortiz, 2009;
Noguera, Hurtado, & Fergus, 2011; Saenz &
Ponjuan, 2009), so there is a challenge to pull
together literature that highlights average or
high-achieving Latino male high school students
(Garrett, Antrop-Gonzalez, & Velez, 2010). The
stresses and pressures to maintain a commitment
to school and urban street culture is a delicate
balance for young adolescent men of color
because a misstep may cause others to either
physically or verbally torment the individual
(Conchas & Vigil, 2012; Rios, 2011).
Latino males and gangs. The purpose of
schools is to educate and train the next
generation of working adults. However, Latino
male youth are constantly mistreated by
educators and criminalized (Conchas & Vigil,
2012; Halx & Ortiz, 2009; Rios, 2011; Tellez &
Estep, 1997). The criminalization by teachers
and security officers is often influenced by
community context, style of dress, and students’
peer affiliation (Rios, 2011). Whether the
criminalization of Latino youth may be
conscious or subconscious by educators, the
students are aware of the mistreatment and
sometimes purposefully “fight back” to
demonstrate they will not be controlled and
further pushed out by schools (Calabrese &
Barton, 1995; Flores-Gonzales, 2005; Luna &
Revilla, 2013; Rios, 2011).
As mentioned, Latino youth represent 46%
of the over 746,000 gang members in the U.S.
Once youth become gang affiliated, educators
may disinvest from supporting or caring for
youth (Halx & Ortiz, 2009; Huerta, et al., 2015;
Rios, 2011; Valenzuela, 1999; Vigil, 1999).
Once labeled a gang member, schools use their
discretion to transfer the student to alternative
schools, which typically have fewer resources
and concentrate on students with the worst
behavioral issues (Ruiz de Velasco &
McLaughlin, 2010; Tellez & Estep, 1997; Vigil,
1988, 1999). Gang involvement typically leads
to incarceration, decreased educational
credentials, a life of poverty, and the need for
increased social services (Pyrooz, 2014; Vigil,
1988, 1999). For those Latino youth who already
live in poverty and whose families are dependent
on social services, gangs provide the needed
support and structure to emulate a family system
if they do not have the necessary supports at
home (Tellez & Estep, 1997; Moule, Decker, &
Pyrooz, 2013; Vigil, 1988, 1999, 2009).
Others suggest that gangs provide the
necessary support to cultivate one’s identity and
space for a feeling of involvement (Conchas &
Vigil, 2012; Rios, 2009, 2011; Vigil, 1988,
2009). And the need to belong to a group or
community influences gang involvement,
especially when the student feels
disenfranchised from his home or school
(Calabrese & Noboa, 1995; Conchas & Vigil,
2010, 2012; Vigil, 1988, 1999). Although
Valenzuela’s (1999) work did not focus on gang
involvement for Mexican youth, the lack of
caring by teachers and other educators
permeated the spirits of the students and the
same could be said for Latino male youth who
are gang active. However destructive gangs are
for Latino male youth and other boys, students
see the opportunity to gain quick access to
financial resources and the reward of “being
somebody.” Cash and power rule the street
(Arfaniarromo, 2001; Calabrese & Noboa, 1995;
Krohn, Schmidt, Lizotte, & Baldwin, 2011;
Nakkula & Toshalis, 2006; Vigil, 2012). The
compounding or marginalization of Latino male
youth further pushes them away from schools
and into gang membership.
Latino males and the military. The
presence of Latinos in the military has a long
history. Notably, Latino males actively joined
the various U.S. military branches during WWII
and were some of the most awarded soldiers
during that time. Now, military recruiters have a
strong presence in urban and low-income high

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schools promoting the multiple benefits of
signing bonuses, career and technical training,
and access to funds to finance postsecondary
education (Ayers, 2006; Huerta, et al., 2015;
McDonough & Calderone, 2006). The social and
financial benefits of enlisting in the military are
very enticing for low-income Latino males who
are persuaded by dental and health insurance, a
regular paycheck, and competitive housing loans
(Flanagan & Levine, 2010). Latinos hold a
strong desire to serve their country, with career
preparation a close second as a reason to join the
U.S. military (Dempsey & Shapiro, 2009).
Unlike high school counselors, military
recruiters are able to guarantee specific benefits
and amounts provided for life after the military,
whereas college counselors can only make
predictions based on often limited information
(McDonough & Calderone, 2006).
Young Latino males regularly travel one of
these pathways: gangs, college, and/or military.
Some would argue that one pathway is better
than the others, but context and environment
shape which is best for the individual. The
following section illuminates the theoretical
grounding of this paper, which is based on
Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecology of human
development theory.
Ecology of Human Development Theory
Previous studies that focus on Latino males
have examined their college experiences through
a feminist lens (Saenz & Bukoski, 2014),
marginality and matter (Huerta & Fishman,
2014), and developmental model to examine
ethnic identity development (Guardia & Evans,
2008). I use Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecology of
human development theory to understand how
Latino male high school students interact with
the multiple environments to gain knowledge
about gangs, college, and the military. This
model places individuals at the center of their
environment and the developmental process;
outcomes occur simultaneously and cannot be
removed from the person’s lived experience
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Renn 2003).
Bronfenbrenner’s theory recognizes that
individuals are nested in multiple environments
through a larger ecology consisting of the
person, place, context, and time (PPCT). The
individual of interest (person) interacts with his
school (place), which is influenced by his
parents’ occupation and behaviors (context) and
ultimately by dominant ideologies and political
environment (time). The PPCT perspective
reflects the four paradigms created by
Bronfenbrenner, which are the microsystem,
mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem.
The microsystem focuses on the individuals’
daily interactions with their homes and schools,
which may include gang members, college
counselors, high school teachers, or military
recruiters. The interactions with these various
actors contribute to the cognitive development
of the person. These regular interactions
between the individual and other actors help
shape the individual’s view and behaviors of his
world, and what is possible (Bronfenbrenner,
1979).
The mesosystem highlights the influence of
interactions between the individual and two or
more systems from the microsystem on
individual development. For example, the
interconnection of a Latino male’s family, his
friendship group, and the high school
environment affect his knowledge and
motivation to prepare for college through
rigorous high school academic preparation
(Huerta, et al., 2015). Bronfenbrenner (1979)
stresses that when schools are isolated from a
person’s home environment, parents have
limited interactions with teachers, counselors,
and other educators, resulting in a diminished
relationship. When parents, students, and
schools are disconnected, the chances for college
enrollment decrease for Latino male students
(Goldrick-Rab & Han, 2011).
The external forces that influence an
individual's opportunities encompass the
exosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The parents’
or guardians’ occupation can shape the types of
economic resources available to their sons, the
geographical location of their home and access
to the high quality of schools, and individuals in
their social networks who can provide access to
higher education (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; 1986).
Another example of external forces includes a

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school board’s decision to reduce funding for the
number of college counselors in high schools,
which impacts low-income Latino males’ ability
to gain accurate and timely information about
college.
The macrosystem encompasses the three
other paradigms. The macrosystem represents
the larger dominant beliefs and ideologies of a
society, which shape resources, challenges, and
opportunities for access (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).
An example would be a Latino male living in a
low-income and non-college educated
community, where the shared belief that college
is not worth the time or financial investment,
and who thus enters the workforce rather than go
to college.
The significance of Bronfenbrenner’s
ecology of human development theory pushes
the discourse about how the environment shapes
Latino males’ view of opportunities, but also
amplifies how the subtle interactions between
the various systems structure pathways to gangs,
college, or the military for this community. The
use of the ecological model helps to position
each system to help explain how college
preparation, military recruitment, and gang
membership are integrated into the lives of the
students, whether intentionally or indirectly. The
model also provides clarity to the complexity of
social networks and connections among the
systems in each of the different social contexts
of people’s lives. Previous theories used to
examine Latino males have focused on the
individual’s ability to accumulate various forms
of wealth to understand how to navigate the
education systems; this theory shows how the
students and the education system interact in a
given space and time, which is then molded by
the dominant ideologies of the community. The
following section discusses how data were
collected, coded, and analyzed.
Method
I used qualitative methods to explore how
students collect and use information about
gangs, college, and the military. Qualitative
methods allow the individual's voice to capture
moments of joy, concern, and struggles in
exploring life experiences. The data presented in
this paper are part of a larger qualitative study
on Latino male students’ post high school
opportunities. In total, 25 Latino male students
were interviewed and observed at three schools
in Nevada, and the Inland Empire in southern
California.
The seven students who are the focus of this
paper attended the same high school, which
served over 3,000 students and was located in
the Inland Empire region of southern California
in a predominantly Latino and working-class
community. I gained access to the school
through an administrative assistant who
brokered contact with the school principal. No
incentives were offered to the students besides
an opportunity to reflect on how they collected
and used information about their post-high
school options. I began by connecting with two
students who shared and recruited their peers
(Creswell, 2009).
The seven participants were between 15 and
19 years old and all identified as Mexican or
Mexican-American. They were considered
average with grade point averages above 3.0 and
ambitions to attend two-and four-year colleges.
They participated in various forms of rigorous
academic preparation, which is strongly
suggested in order to be successful in
postsecondary education (Perna, 2000).
The seven students were vastly different
from the extremely marginalized Latino male
students attending alternative high schools in
Nevada. In addition to their academic
performance and ambitions, they did not have
academic or behavioral challenges, had not been
arrested, and had not switched schools multiple
times due to behavioral issues. Most of the
literature on Latino males in K-16 focuses on the
marginalized, the “invisible or vanishing,” and
emphasize the crisis. I highlight counter
narratives of low-income and average achieving
students, who are closely connected to gangs
and the military, but prefer the college path.
Each semi-structured interview ranged from
25 to 90 minutes. Interview questions related to
gangs, college, and the military, and how their
parents, friends, and high school counselors

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either promoted the pathways or suggested that
they stay away from the three options. Each
interview was audio recorded and transcribed
verbatim. I used open coding for each of the
seven participants, which allows themes to
naturally emerge (Saldaña, 2013). Later, I used
an inductive and deductive process for data
analysis to avoid restrictions of theme
development (Bazeley, 2013).
Results
I rely on three paradigms of
Bronfenbrenner’s ecology of human
development theory to frame the key findings:
microsystem, mesosystem, and macrosystem.
Each of the seven participant’s primary post-
high school option was higher education. The
students felt the military was a secondary option
because of the access to resources to finance
their postsecondary education and the additional
financial benefits, such as health insurance,
although they feared death. Each of the seven
students was aware of the presence of gang
members in their communities, school, and for
some – at their place of employment – but gang
participation was not their goal.
College Preparation
The microsystem focuses on the students’
daily interaction with their home, school,
teachers, or other educators. This interaction
contributes to students’ cognitive development
and molds their worldviews. Students’ higher
education options ranged from local community
colleges, state colleges, private religiously
affiliated schools, and a few highly selective
research universities. Their goals ranged from
earning vocational certificates in culinary arts to
pursuing advanced graduate degrees. The
college-going goals were shaped by their daily
interactions and messages received from their
parents, college counselors, and high school
teachers. Some students had positive and
supportive experiences because of their
commitment to high academic preparation and
strong connections to Advancement Via
Individual Determination (AVID) programs.
These students were able to enroll in advanced
placements courses and had meaningful
interactions with their counselors who pushed
and motivated them to select and apply to top 25
schools.
Some counselors acted more as barriers to
the Latino males than as facilitators to college-
going behaviors. For example, Ernie, a senior
and high-achieving student, shared his views
about his college counselor:
Right now, there’s no relationship [with
my counselor]. ‘Cause like last year they
cut counselors because of like budget cuts
so...then...my senior year and I got this
completely new counselor that knows
nothing about me and doesn’t know
anything about college, and like, I’m sorry
but...this one time where she, she tried
telling me that um, she’s like, “Oh UC
Sonoma,” and I was like, “No, University
of Sonoma is a Cal State,” and she’s like,
“No, it’s a UC,” and I’m like, “No, it’s a
Cal State.” She didn’t know! You know
what I’m saying? It was kind of like,
“Why am I here? I know more than you
do.” And so for the relationship with my
counselor that I currently have, there’s
none. After she tried telling me that
Sonoma was a UC, I just never went back.
When Xavier, a student whose goal is to
attend a community college for a certificate in
culinary arts, was asked about his relationship
with his high school counselor, he stated, “I
rarely see my counselor. The only time I see my
counselor is for scheduling.” Xavier’s academic
needs were different from the students whose
goals involved attending four-year universities.
Counselors and educators are supposed to
support and forge meaningful relationships, but
as various studies have indicated, college
counselors are often overwhelmed with various
non-counseling activities (Corwin, Venegas,
Oliverez, & Colyar, 2004; Espinoza, 2011;
Huerta, 2015; McDonough, 1997; Perna,
Rowan-Kenyon, Thomas, Bell, & Li, 2008).
Chuck, a senior who was attending a highly-
selective four-year research university, had a
different relationship with his high school
counselor. He comments about how connected

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and motivated he was to achieve his college-
goals.
I really have a really, really good
relationship with him [my high school
counselor]. He already knows me by
name, I don’t have to ask...he knows about
what colleges I applied where, he knows
my sister, he knows what college I’m
going to, how much money I’m getting, he
knows everything about me. He knows
like what clubs I’m in, what sports I’m in.
It’s because every little question, I don’t
hesitate to go in there and ask. Every little
thing. Like his secretaries know me, like,
“ah he’s coming in there again,” and I
don’t care. I wanna ask questions.
The microsystem captures how students’ daily
interactions shaped their cognitive development.
The students highlighted their experiences with
their college counselors and the various types of
support provided. The problems with college
counseling have been explored for various
student populations and the students in the most
need often do not receive the necessary support
to meet their potential.
All of the students were the first in their
families to attend higher education and were not
receiving academic support from their families.
The students recognized the need to find support
services in order to be college-ready, but also to
learn the nuances of applying to college. Four of
the seven students participated in AVID, which
exposed and fostered a college-going culture for
students to develop their social and academic
goals to enroll in four-year colleges. Ernie, a
senior and oldest of five siblings, shared:
The first time college entered my mind, it
was awhile back; it was in middle school.
That’s when I started thinking about
college because that’s when I knew what
it was...And they were the ones that
introduced me and encouraged me to get a
further education, a post high school
degree...not just to focus on graduating but
like getting good grades that way I would
qualify for a good school, also I could get
more money as far as scholarships and
grants goes, and, yeah but. College was
never an initial thought for me.
Ernie mentioned that his introduction to
college was in middle school through the AVID
program. Between working part-time at a
regional hamburger chain and earning good
grades, he attributed his increased motivation to
attend college to the AVID program.
Ernie’s family, specifically his mother,
supported his goal of attending college, but was
unable to provide the scaffolding necessary to
know which classes, exams, or other admission
criteria would make him more competitive. Like
most low-income and non-college educated
parents, she thought promoting high school
completion would be sufficient for future job
placement. Ernie, who would be the first in his
family to attend college, reluctantly grimaced as
he said his mother was “ignorant” about the
college-going process. He shared, “She didn’t
know about college...her focus was getting me to
graduate from [high school]...if it wasn’t for
AVID, I wouldn’t be where I am now.” He was
similar to other first-generation college students
and parents who are unfamiliar with the college-
going process (McDonough, 1997; Mullen,
2010). The AVID program served him at a
critical moment in his schooling process and
provided the needed tools and support systems
to be successful in navigating the college-
process (Espinoza, 2011). He was now debating
between attending a Baptist or Jesuit university
in California. The cost of tuition was covered,
but he would have to pay for housing at both
schools. Ernie only applied to a handful of
colleges and universities in California; he did
not qualify for the application fee waivers
because of his family income, although he did
qualify for free and reduced lunch. He stated that
his stepfather’s employment had been
inconsistent during and after the recession – his
family depended on the sole income from his
mother. An additional motivation for him to
work hard in high school was to prepare to leave
for college and move away from his mother and
stepfather. His stepfather was unsupportive and
they had a strained relationship. Ernie also
wanted to leave home to reduce his mother’s

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financial burden of supporting seven people in
one household.
The microsystem describes the interactions
of individuals with other systems, which impacts
their development. I highlighted the role of
interactions in one student’s goal to become
college-bound through his participation in the
AVID program, but also shared the student’s
limited support from his family to promote a
college-going culture. This observation is not an
attack on the mother’s inability to support the
student, but an acknowledgement of what other
studies have stated – students need support in
navigating the complicated college-going
process (Espinoza, 2011; Huerta & Fishman,
2014; Sanchez, Huerta, & Venegas, 2012).
Military Recruitment
The students in this study discovered and
prepared for college at different points in their
K-12 experiences. All the students mentioned
their parents’ openness and support for them to
attend college and provided different forms of
encouragement and agency to the students to
choose which college would be best for them.
The parents were split on their support for their
sons’ thoughts of joining the military because of
their fear of leaving home to possibly enter a
foreign war. The students saw the various
financial benefits and job training as added
bonuses for committing three to four years of
their lives in the military. Students mentioned
lessening the burden on their families as an
underlying reason to join because of the free and
guaranteed housing, financial aid for college,
and health insurance. Those needs were not
always met from their families’ economic
positions.
The students talked about the constant
presence of military recruiters at their school.
The recruiters would interact with students
during lunch periods, provide presentations
during class periods about the various benefits,
and dismissed myths about dying and the
battlefield. They frequently distributed business
cards to students during class transitions. Mario,
a senior who wants to attend a community
college, shared:
It [the presentation] was a big group. Like
they [the recruiter] would come to a class
and they would like speak to us as a
presentation kind of thing. And after they
were like, oh ok, if you guys have any
questions, you can come up to me
individually, like my name is so and so
and I’ll be around campus all day so if you
guys have any questions, just come up to
me. I’ll be happy to answer them or assist
or whatever.
The recruiters were not restricted from
connecting with students and would do their best
to build bridges with the students to encourage
them to join the different military branches. As
mentioned, the recruiters would make concerted
efforts to dispel myths about the types of jobs
available in the military and share that not all
soldiers were in the battlefield or simply killing
people for a living. Mario shared his recruitment
experience:
Well they [the recruiter] say that
obviously the fear that...the military is just
fighting. Like people think that ‘oh the
military is just like, oh we’re going to go
out there in combat and just kill people.’
Like, it’s not even like that. It’s like if you
choose to do so. Like they have like
hundreds, maybe not hundreds, but like
numerous amounts of groups that you can
go to like you could go into combat, you
could, I think one of them was like a
private chef, you could do a storage
management, you know, like there are
many things you could do. Um, and it’s
like, they’re not forcing you to do any of
it. It’s like you choose where you want to
go and what you want to do.
Mario further elaborated his fears about
being a financial burden to his family because of
the costs of higher education by seriously
considering the military during his final year of
high school. He shared, “I started considering
[joining the military] this year because...I was
always interested in the financial
[benefits]...How am I even going to get there [to
college]...Like I don’t have a way to pay for

JOURNAL OF LATINO/LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 2015, 7(2), 119-132
127
anything.” He faced the pressures of trying to
find the best way to pay for college without
asking for additional support from his family.
Although community college may seem
financially reasonable to some families when
compared to the costs of a four-year college, the
context and perceptions of families about
college costs matter (Huerta, et al., 2015;
McDonough & Calderone, 2006; Sanchez,
Huerta, & Venegas, 2012).
Juan, a rising senior with goals to attend
community college before transferring to a four-
year college, was frustrated with military
recruiters targeting Chicano high school
students. He eagerly shared how recruiters
typically target Chicano students and his peers:
He [the recruiter] only recruited and went
up to Chicanos and that’s what bugs me,
you know? At our school, we have the
Chicanos, the Americans, all different
people, you know? We’re diverse, but
basically the recruiter he only goes up to
us Chicanos and stuff and is like, “Just
come to the army and join the military,”
and it kind of annoyed me and so I asked,
“We’re diverse. Why don’t you ask other
individuals at the school?
The recruiter was selling the option of choice of
a focused profession and the various benefits
afforded to students should they join the
military. Juan believed military recruiters solely
focused on Chicano students to join the military
and ignored White students. The external forces
on an individual’s opportunities and the family’s
current socioeconomic stability made the
military appealing considering the challenges in
financing higher education and the thought of
being an additional burden to parents and
families. As the students shared, their parents
were not able to support financially the burden
of their sons’ tuition or other university related
fees.
Gang Connections
The students’ contact, interactions, and
relationships with gangs differed. Some of the
participants worked with gang members, others
knew of gang members that lived in their
communities, and some had former gang
members as relatives, so the access to gang
information was fluid in their environments. All
the students were aware of the potential
outcomes of gang involvement, including death,
incarceration, and conducting criminal missions
for the gang, but also the opportunity for
friendship and community. Ernie was the student
closest to joining a gang. While the other
students intentionally stayed away from gangs,
he considered the recruitment offer from a
young gang member. Ernie shared during middle
school that a student suggested he join his new
gang. Ernie stated:
They wanted me to be [in a new
gang]...and honestly, the only reason I
ever thought about it was because I felt
like I didn’t have anybody. And but, it was
just one night and I just like stayed up and
it was like two or three in the morning and
I was just like thinking about
everything…it was a little crew and then
[could be] a big gang...shoot somebody or
stab somebody or like pocket check (steal
something from others)...I didn’t want my
life to be like that...I know [who] they are,
but I don’t correlate myself with them, I
don’t hang around with them outside of
school, just like in strictly school ‘cause
you know, I don’t want to get into any
drama outside of it [school].
In some urban and low-income
communities, gangs are a natural part of the
landscape. Families and neighbors know of the
local gang members and some are the victims of
the gangs’ behaviors, whether it is robberies,
assault, or vandalism to their property. Latino
male youth may look up to gang members as
role models and see opportunities to be
supported and mentored by gang members, if the
individuals do not have the necessary support
systems at home. Ernie debated and struggled
with the decision not to join the gang, but he
could have easily become a member and his life
trajectory could have been vastly different as a
senior in high school.

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Discussion
This paper explores the students’
perceptions of and interactions with gangs,
college, and the military for Latino males in one
high school through the use of a human
ecological theory. None of the students had the
same pathway to information as they moved
from middle school to high school and then
college. Three overarching themes emerged.
First, middle school was a period of exploration
between gangs and college, as shown by Ernie
who struggled with the decision of not becoming
an active gang member. Next, the pressure of
how to finance their higher education was
worrisome for them and the military was a
secondary option to help alleviate their
economic stress, although one student felt the
recruiters often targeted Chicano students.
Finally, inconsistency of college counseling
existed for all of the students.
Middle school is an emotionally and
physically turbulent time for adolescent students
(Nakkula & Toshalis, 2006) and the students in
this study were no different from their peers
experiencing the similar stressors. The cultures
and the environments of the middle schools were
not explored, but may have shaped how the
students perceived educational opportunities.
The example of Ernie was highlighted because
of his closeness to joining a new gang and,
although he was a good student and person as a
child, the transition of moving and feeling alone
prompted him to search for support from his
peers. Luckily, Ernie made the conscious
decision not to join the gang, but his story
illustrates the importance of parents and
educators providing support during major
transitions for students and being present to
advocate and provide necessary emotional
support. This theme is affirmed by a recent study
by Estrada, Gilreath, Astor, and Benbenishty
(2014) who report most California youth join
gangs during middle school, which is an area
that required additional attention.
Individual interactions with gangs shaped
students’ identity and developmental awareness
of opportunities and in some ways motivated
them to pursue higher education. The students
shared that their families encouraged them to
stay away from gangs because of the various
negative outcomes. It was not clear what role
schools and educators played in sharing
information about gangs, but it is less difficult to
determine how the different systems interacted
to facilitate opportunities. As reported by Vigil
(1999), the streets are encroaching on schools;
gang recruitment and violence are common in
urban schools. Students undergoing major
transitions, such as middle school, are at a
critical period and need advocates to mentor and
support their goals; however, adults and other
educators must be aware that students are still in
the exploration stage of their lives and
unfamiliar with the various options available.
The influence of adults on Latino male students
cannot be overstated and specifically educators
must use their roles to positively impact
students’ college-going identities at earlier
stages.
Bronfenbrenner (1979; 1989) suggests that
educators, researchers, and others view
individuals as swirling in various cycles and
paradigms of information about what is possible
based on context and what they believe is
possible. But educators must see that student
goals of attending college or joining the military
may seem foreign to students who may be the
first in their families to explore their options; the
students may self-limit because of various
internal and external factors. For some youth,
the college and military systems may conflict
because Latino males may believe that one path
should dominate their trajectory. Espinoza’s
(2011) work shows that educators and other
caring adults can either intervene and provide
the supports to focus on college or ignore
students who need the most help and then
relegate the marginalized students even further.
The second finding about the students’
internal pressures to finance their postsecondary
education is a concern for low-income students
who do not want to contribute to the economic
pressures faced by their parents. Parents’
occupations (exosystem) directly shape the
parents’ networks and their ability to expose
their children to different opportunities and
individuals who could propel their college-going

JOURNAL OF LATINO/LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 2015, 7(2), 119-132
129
goals. The students in this study talked about
affordability of college and the added stressors
to their family similar to previous research with
Mexican-American college students (see
Schwartz, Donovan, & Guido-DiBrito, 2009).
The college students made concerted efforts
to not share their internal feelings of stress with
their families or educators as to not air the
families’ troubles. The students shared with me
their fears, but did not discuss the pressures with
their families, friends, or educators at their
school. This is important for financial aid
counselors and college outreach professionals to
improve their counseling skills to engage and
explain to students the intricacies of the financial
aid appeal process (Tierney & Venegas, 2009).
Low-income male high school students may
believe they must “man-up” to be solely
responsible for paying for their higher education
or be forced to enter the military as a last resort
to secure guaranteed financial safety to not
accept the burden of student loans. As discussed
by the students in this study, military recruiters
had a strong presence at their school and
promoted messages about the various guaranteed
benefits of the military. The students stated that
only college admissions recruiters and no
financial aid counselors visited their schools,
which added to the anxiety about understanding
the financial aid maze.
The inability of college counselors to
support the most vulnerable populations has
been stressed for over 20 years (Espinoza, 2011;
McDonough, 1997, 2008). Frequently, low-
income high school students “find out” about
college and financial aid at late periods of their
secondary schooling experiences (Bonous-
Hammarth & Allen, 2005; Plank & Jordan,
2001). The students in this study were no
different; the lower achieving students with 2.0
to 3.0 grade point averages received information
about going to local community colleges to
prepare for transfer to a four-year college and
the highest achieving students were coached and
provided the necessary scaffolding to reach a
highly-selective four-year college. We could
debate about who “deserves” to attend a
particular college, but we know that type of
college attended and the resources provided by
said college can determine whether students
reaches their third or fourth year of college and
are eligible to graduate. The microsystem
interactions with AVID and college counselors
positively shaped the students engagement, but
also the individual students’ college readiness.
This finding is important to document how
inconsistent college counselors are for Latino
male students, but also an opportunity for
counselor education programs to stress the
importance of college and financial aid
curriculum for future professionals who serve
low-income populations.
Lastly, the need to support Latino male
students to prepare for two and four-year
colleges is important, not only for their
individual economic positioning, but for the
larger implications to society. How and why
each student selects a particular college or
decides whether to join the military or a gang is
complicated and complex. Family values,
economic position, individual confidence in
academic abilities, and other factors influence
students’ beliefs about what is possible after
high school. The relationship between earning a
college degree and social mobility cannot be
overstated for the next generation of college
educated professionals in order to provide
stronger economical footing. However, the effort
to promote college opportunity for Latino males
requires additional investments from educators
at various stages of the educational pipeline to
promote either college or military participation.
Conclusion
The students in this study represent the
“average” high school student. The students
were in an environment where opportunities and
challenges fluctuated based on various internal
and external factors, such as parents’
occupations, interactions with peers, the quality
of college counselors, and military recruiters.
These students’ opportunities propelled them to
various types of college opportunities, including
community colleges, technical colleges, or four-
year universities, which were influenced by their
parents, teachers, and counselors.

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Future research should consider examining
the parenting styles of college educated Latino
men through a longitudinal study comparing
multiple generations. Also, future studies should
examine how Latino and Latina students
understand and experience information about
gangs versus college knowledge. Lastly, other
studies should examine other racial and ethnic
student populations’ experiences and sentiments
concerning marginalization by educators and
military recruiters.
Acknowledgments: I appreciate the feedback
and advice of Carola Suárez-Orozco, Kristan
Venegas, Patricia McDonough, and Carrie
Miller on a previous version of this paper.
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