Photo disclaimer: The above photo was taken before the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Michigan State University will continue providing much-needed assistance to students who are children of migrant farmworkers with a U.S. Department of Education grant renewal of more than $2 million.
MSU’s College Assistance Migrant Program Scholars Initiative has served more than 1,000 eligible migrant and seasonal farmworker students during its 20 years. The CAMP initiative identifies, recruits, admits and enrolls migrant and seasonal farmworker students and provides them academic, social and financial support to complete their first year of college.
“This fifth, five-year grant will mean the program will be continuously funded for 25 years,” said Luis Alonzo Garcia, director of MSU Migrant Student Services, which oversees the MSU CAMP Scholars Initiative. “Approximately 90% of the students recruited into the CAMP program never intended to go to college and are first-generation college students. This program truly offers them an opportunity to completely change their lives.”
The MSU CAMP team consists of multicultural and bilingual staff, offering a welcoming environment for migrant students and families in a campus residential program. All CAMP students live in MSU’s Holden Hall, which houses the program and provides the students with easy access to faculty and staff.
“MSU has always been at the forefront of agricultural education in America,” Garcia said. “The CAMP program continues that tradition by helping families who have spent their lives working hands-on in agriculture realize the American dream. It teaches the children of our migrant and seasonal workers how to take risks in a smart way, paving the way for future generations.”
Garcia said he is proud of MSU’s CAMP program, which has produced more than 300 graduates throughout the past 20 years.