As part of an effort to remove the fear and anxiety for kids transitioning from high school to college, Arizona State University's School of Transborder Studies is working with educators around the state to give Latino students an opportunity to visit ASU's Tempe campus. Beyond helping the kids feel relaxed about the transition, the program also gives them the confidence to navigate what can be an intimidating process. Kids attend lectures, meet instructors and tour the ASU campus to get a feel for being a college student.
Mario Aguilar Buenrostro, a college and career readiness specialist and dual-enrollment instructor for the Mexican American Student Services Department at the Tucson Unified School District who brought students to ASU recently, said the program provides resources, desensitizes the kids and helps them know what to expect when they arrive on campus as college students.
"Create this sense of belonging for students," he said, "specifically because there is that historically systemic segregation that happens for Latino students in academic paths."
Buenrostro recently brought a group of students from the Tucson Unified School District to ASU to help them understand what a college campus looks like, how it feels to be in a university classroom, and what transitioning from high school to higher education is like. He said any student can take the tours, but added that the program has been especially helpful to Mexican Americans headed to college.
He said it can also help create a sense of belonging for incoming students who may not feel at home in a new college environment, since many of them are leaving home for the first time.
"A lot of these students are first generation," he said. "Some of these students are also predominantly Spanish speaking. So, that in itself deters students from potentially making that path to college."
Buenrostro said using this program to help Latino students get ready for college also breaks the cycle of exclusion they might have experienced in the past.
Source: Public News Service
