MESA, Ariz.
The Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program at Arizona State University, which has helped thousands of young women finish high school and attend college, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, ASU announced.
As part of the program, first-generation students make a 10-year commitment in the eighth grade to attend ASU workshops with their mothers and learn the skills needed to succeed.
ASU partners with 14 school districts in Phoenix and the East Valley to mentor students, raise their aspirations and teach skills for them to succeed. The university said the program has promoted higher education to more than 6,000 young women and their mothers over the years.
The outreach program will celebrate its 25th anniversary at a luncheon at 11 a.m. Oct. 24 at the Phoenix Convention Center, 100 N. Third St., Phoenix. The celebration event is sponsored primarily by the Helios Education Foundation, assisted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.
Currently the program serves more than 550 mother-daughter teams from the eighth grade through the university level. The teams attend regular evening workshops at ASU, and the girls receive one-on-one academic advising and peer mentoring. For participants who make a commitment and stay in the program, the university said 100 percent of them graduate from high school and go on to attend a community college or a university.
Three quarters of the eighth grade and high school participants maintain grade-point averages of 3.0 or better. Hundreds have gone on to graduate from college and pursue careers in education, law, journalism, medicine and business, according to ASU officials.
Eileana Felix said she remembers 30-minute bus rides with her mother from Creighton School in Phoenix to ASU, as well as the encouragement from her mother and her ASU mentors. Felix graduated from ASU in 2006, and today she works with the Osborn School District as the preschool family advocate. Just as ASU helped her mother become active in her education, Felix helps parents of young children get involved in their child's education from the start.
