“I spent a lot of time at ASU hanging out with other CAMP scholars,” Laguna said. “That helped me cope with being away from my family, who I missed a lot. But I’d say I found another family in ASU.”

Laguna said that his decision to attend ASU was made partially because of its Army ROTC Program and because of the stipend he received during his first year from CAMP.

“I wanted something bigger — I grew up in a small border town and I wanted to experience a big city like Phoenix,” he said. 

Barbosa said after her experience in CAMP, she had an opportunity to work with other CAMP students which led to her discovering what career path she wanted to pursue.

“While at ASU, I worked as a peer mentor for first-year CAMP students for three semesters,” she said. “This was such a rewarding experience because I was able to build a relationship with them and help them navigate through their first year at ASU. This experience also helped me realize that I wanted to work with first-year students in a bigger capacity, ultimately deciding to pursue my graduate degree in higher education.”

Both Barbosa and Laguna credit the CAMP Project with providing them crucial financial, emotional and academic support.

“The CAMP Project helped me through personal development workshops, internship opportunities and guidance to apply for graduate school,” Barbosa said. “I don’t know what I would have done without it.”

Barbosa and Laguna continued to check in with Quiroga for advice and mentorship over the last four years, time that she said went by quickly.

“I think they're both leaders and it's been a joy and a pleasure to see them blossom over the years.”

Christopher Clements

Marketing Assistant, The College Of Liberal Arts and Sciences