ASU program helps first-generation college students navigate path to higher ed

ASU’s new program, Future Sun Devil Families, was the subject of a recent AZ Central article. The 10-week program aims to better prepare Arizona high school students and their families for success at ASU.

Through a series of workshops, participants learn about everything from the college application process to obtaining financial aid. Although Future Sun Devil Families is open to the families of all Arizona high school students, it’s aimed at families with first-generation, college-bound students. For many of them, programs like these can be the difference between wanting to go to college and actually making it there.

High school junior Breanna Angulo is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and is likely to become the first in her family to pursue higher education. While the weekly ASU workshop is more for the parents, Angulo has attended each one with her mom and dad.

“I always wanted to go to college,” she said. “I always wanted to be something in the medical field. The only hard part for me was trying to find money to be able to go.”

A program like Future Sun Devil Families helps to provide students access to information they otherwise may not get. Future Sun Devil Families officially launches in the fall but began its pilot this school year targeting parents at five schools in the Tolleson Union High School District.

Since its inception, the program has grown from 400 to 700 parents and students, said Lupe Varela-Franco, Tolleson Union’s primary liaison with ASU.

“It’s about closing the achievement gap, so we’re doing our part to fulfill that,” said Beatriz Rendón, associate vice president of education outreach and student services at ASU.

Officials hope to target 15 schools and reach about 1,500 students at full implementation.

Another university-sponsored program that helps Arizona students get to college: Access ASU.

Access ASU is part of the Arizona State University’s initiative to increase the number of Arizona students who qualify for admission. The initiative includes programs for families and students, including the American Dream Academy, a program targeting parents of K-8 students attending school in historically Hispanic neighborhoods, and the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program, which aims to reach first-generation college-bound girls and their mothers. More details: eoss.asu.edu/access or 480-965-6060.