By
Hillary Davis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Sigma Lambda Beta members promote studying, college at Mansfeld Middle School career
Efraim Gonzalez looks out at the classroom of junior high schoolers and asks, "Who wants to go to college?"
The eighth graders, dressed in the blue and white uniforms of Mansfeld Middle School, each immediately thrust a hand into the air.
Gonzalez, a criminal justice administration sophomore and vice president of UA's Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity, smiles approvingly.
"That's tight," he says.
Members of the fraternity visited the junior high school yesterday to participate in the school's career fair and encourage the youngsters to attend college. About 400 students filtered through the fraternity's presentations.
The children, who said they wanted to be architects, engineers and professional athletes, were eager to learn about college life. They grilled Gonzalez, psychology sophomore Erik Aldama and marketing sophomore Anselmo Torres on how many classes they take, if they attend school on the weekends or if they have to have a major.
Gonzalez urged the students to study, even if others doubt their ability to succeed in college or tease them for being "schoolboys."
"Look where I'm at, I'm at the university," he said. "None of that stuff did them any good, not getting good grades."
"It all starts right now, right here," Aldama said.
Torres, who is also Sigma Lambda Beta president, agreed with Gonzalez.
"I like to tell the kids you can be cool and get straight A's," Torres said. "I thought I was."
Gonzalez and Aldama stressed the importance of responsibility and learning, and also pointed out the positive social aspects of the UA, including Greek participation. Torres said he had "no idea" what a fraternity was when he was in junior high school.
He knew, however, that he wanted to go to college.
"It was my parents. They instilled in me (the importance of) education," Torres said. "A lot of these kids, their parents don't push them."
Gonzalez said the 13-member fraternity is often mingling with the community. Members of Sigma Lambda Beta visit other schools around town with the same message they brought to Mansfeld.
Gonzalez, who attended Tucson's Apollo Middle School when he was younger, said students are impressed when they see the kind of future they can have.
"It's cool relating to them," he said. "They say, 'you're in college? You went to Apollo, now you're in college.'"
