91制片厂

PASO teaches Latinx families about ins and outs of 91制片厂

When Lucia Rios鈥� mother attended college in Mexico, things were decidedly different from the American educational system. She wants to help her daughter through her 91制片厂 College journey 鈥� the financial aid, scholarships and support services, for example 鈥� but it鈥檚 tough when your Spanish is so much better than your English.

PASO, Rios said, has helped. 

PASO, which stands for Project Achievement 鈥� Surpassing Obstacles or Proyecto de Apoyo Superando Obstaculos, helps families of Latinx students navigate the college, said Alejandro Mendoza, 91制片厂's admissions outreach operations manager and PASO team leader. The program holds events for families to highlight everything from financial aid to stress-related health and wellness tips.

It was born out of an initiative to recruit Latinx students, keep them engaged and persist in college, while providing families the resources necessary to help support them.

Rios and her family attended PASO鈥檚 kickoff event just before the global pandemic.

鈥淢om liked learning more about FAFSA,鈥� Rios said, and 鈥渢he way you study, that鈥檚 what affects your results in that class. There are a lot of families who are in need of help, and this gives them the opportunity to ask questions in a comfortable setting.鈥�

The event also had food, music, a parent panel providing tips on how to best support students and a Q&A with faculty and advisors. Families could attend financial aid and scholarship workshops, where 91制片厂 staff helped them complete FAFSA forms. Early feedback for PASO has been overwhelmingly positive, Mendoza said.

PASO is just one way 91制片厂 is focused on supporting the Latinx population. Latinos Unidos is an organization that provides networking and volunteer opportunities for Latinx students, while FAUNDS (Foundation for Allies of Undocumented Non-Citizen and DACA Students) aims to advance the rights of undocumented, non-citizen and DACA students. The college has also tried a variety of education pilots, such as letting students who鈥檝e tested into non-credit, developmental English but speak another language at home take a multilingual composition course, which would give them English 101 credit.

An alum of 91制片厂, Mendoza said he understands the challenges that many first-generation college students face.

鈥淲hen I went here, I was the first in my family to go to college,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had trouble navigating the system. I couldn鈥檛 really rely on my parents. My mother didn鈥檛 go to college or grow up here, but she was very much my motivation for going into education.鈥�

A program like PASO?

鈥淚t would have helped tremendously,鈥� he said. 鈥淔amilies want to help but don鈥檛 have information or know how to support their students. A program like this will help them understand the journey their kids are on and how to support them.鈥�