Program inspires mothers and daughters to go to college
January 27, 2012
A program that is meant to inspire young Hispanic women to go to college is helping some moms pursue their dream of getting a college degree as well.
The Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program (HMDP) at Arizona State University (ASU) is one of several programs located throughout the country that helps girls prepare themselves for college. Girls apply in 7th grade and attend various workshops the campus of ASU throughout their 8th grade and high school years. Workshops help the girls with topics such as time management, leadership, career planning and public speaking.
FronterasDesk.org reports that admission to the program is competitive - just like applying to college. Hundreds apply each year and only 140 are accepted.
In order to get in, students must maintain a 2.75 GPA and be in the first generation of their family to be college bound, among other things. They must also attend the workshops with their mothers.
"Having someone in your family who can guide you through the process, I think it's very important that these girls have that," Anita Tarango, director of the HMDP at ASU told the website. "And that their families get on board."
While the program has been successful in inspiring young participants to work hard and go to college, it's also helped inspire some moms to do the same.
"She's like getting a second chance to also go to school," 18-year-old Denica Gonzalez told FronterasDesk.org about her mom, Reina. "That's why she was so happy about it too."
"They get exposure to not only the workshop topics, but the actual physical place of ASU," Tarango added. "They start to see themselves as university students."
According to the website, although the program doesn't focus on the mothers, organizers have added sessions that help them realize their dream of going to college as well. For example, moms can attend a "how to start school" session as part of their involvement in the program.
Several moms have gone back to school after attending HMDP with their daughters.
A 2011 report conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center found that the number of Hispanics attending college in the U.S. has risen to an all-time high. Between 2009 and 2010, there was a 24 percent increase in the number of Hispanics enrolled in American colleges, bringing to 12.2 million the total number of individuals in this ethnic group pursuing a higher education.
Regardless of ethnicity, moms who are inspired by their daughters or anything else to go to college should know that a wide variety of programs exist to help make it financially feasible. Researching and applying for grants for parents, scholarships for mothers or single mother scholarships can help make this dream a reality!
