A legacy of learning: ASU celebrates Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program’s 40th anniversary
ASU faculty and staff address members of the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program as they celebrate spring 2024 graduation. Courtesy photo
Coming from an immigrant family, there were things about Leslie Linarte Luna’s educational journey that she couldn’t always turn to her family for help with.
“There are a lot of disconnects between how things are in the United States and how they are back in Mexico,” Luna said.
Then, one day during her seventh-grade physical education class, a group of ambassadors for Arizona State University’s Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program came to visit her school.
“They sat us down and explained to us what the program was,” Luna said. “I went home and told my mom about it. We applied, went through the interview process, and were eventually admitted to the program.”
Today, Luna is a second-year student studying public service and public policy through Arizona State University's Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. Not only did the program help her find academic direction and success, it helped her relate to her mother on a new level.
“The program helped strengthen the relationship I had with my mom, especially as I was trying to communicate what was happening with school and why I was stressed,” Luna said. “Having educational programs, especially for parents who are unfamiliar with the college process, is so important so they can be active participants in their students’ education.”
The Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program (HMDO), which this Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates its 40th anniversary at ASU, is an early-outreach middle and high school program designed to increase the number of first-generation Arizona students who are qualified and prepared to enroll at ASU.
A program of ASU’s Educational Outreach and Student Services that was founded in 1984, HMDP has a legacy of supporting Hispanic mothers and daughters. However, as the issue of attainable college is not limited to one community, the program has since opened its doors to extend its charter and broaden its resources. Today, the program seeks to accept all students who identify as being a future first-generation college student with an aspiration to attend ASU.
At the center of the program is a focus on the mother-daughter relationship, with the goal of fostering a lasting sense of unity while pursuing higher education.
Since its inception, HMDP’s reach has grown considerably; it now helps support students in more than a dozen different elementary and high school districts throughout Arizona. Counselors and teachers across the state’s schools are encouraged to inform seventh- to 12th-grade students about HDMP and serve as a resource for those who apply. Students eventually accepted into the program attend workshops and events that promote college readiness.
Throughout the years, the overall goals of the program curriculum have never changed. HMDP is structured to actively include parents in the college-going process.
In expanding its charter, the HMDP is able to support more students who identify with the experience of being a first-generation college student, like Luna, and to provide them with the practical support they need to successfully navigate university life.
“Having a program that supports students who might not know what they’re doing, especially when they’re first-generation college students, is extremely helpful,” Luna said. “That way, they have a support system to guide them through the college process, even if they can’t rely on their family.”
To be involved in HMDP, participants must make a five-year commitment to the program. Once accepted, parents and their students will attend in-person and digital workshops from the student’s eighth-grade year through the completion of 12th grade.
After going through HMDP, Luna fulfilled her goal of being accepted to ASU, where she is studying to one day work in the public sector. While the program helped Luna grow closer to her mother, she was also able to establish connections with peers and eventually went on to work for HMDP.
Her advice for incoming students who are part of HMDP?
“It’s all about having a good balance between wanting to set yourself up (for) success while at the same time taking care of yourself,” Luna said. “Enjoy your high school experience while still working toward your collegiate future.”
To learn more or apply to the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program, visit the program’s informational website.
This story was written with contributions from Mia Milinovich and Lily Thorne.
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