(perky Latin music) (perky Latin music ends) - Hello and welcome to "Horizonte," a show that takes a look at current issues through a Hispanic lens.

I'm your host, Catherine Anaya.

The Arizona State University Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.

The program was designed to help first-generation college students get a degree, but has since expanded its reach to include all students regardless of ethnicity.

Here's a quick look at what makes this program so special.

- Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program is a program that really is about increasing the level of educational attainment for students in Arizona.

- For myself and my family, it was a really amazing opportunity because we don't know what we didn't know.

We didn't know even the first step on how to becoming a college student.

An HMDP introduced me as an eighth grader, and my mom as a Mexican immigrant who did not speak English, to the idea that college was even a possibility.

- HMDP, the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program is really a life-changing program.

It's a program that for many, it opens doors, it opens eyes, it opens hearts, opens curiosity.

The Hispanic Mother and Daughter Program opened a lot of doors for me.

I was able to graduate college.

I was able to be the first one in my family to make it through.

So with my mom side-by-side, I was able to learn that Ruby, keep going, keep pushing, and make it through.

(Olga speaking in Spanish) (Olga speaking in Spanish) (Olga speaking in Spanish) - Access to education obviously is important for everybody.

In this particular case, we're talking about Latina women who at that time when the program was created, they were the lowest percentage of population that were obtaining college degrees.

And so, access to education is important to all students, to all families, no matter their environment, their backgrounds or where you know, where they're doing, what they're doing or where they're coming from.

Joining me now to talk more about the success of the ASU Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program is Dr. Alicia Iniguez with Access ASU.

Also with us is Kayla Esquivel and her mother, Elena.

Thank you, ladies, so much for joining me.

So congratulations, Doctor.

40 years of this wonderful program.

What a success.

What was the idea behind it when it was first established back in the 80s?

- So back in 1984, it was established to really support first-generation Latina women into Access to Arizona State University by providing guidance, resources, information, all for academic success and college readiness.

- And as I explained, it's changed over the years.

- [Dr. Alicia] Yes.

- And now, it's become more inclusive.

- Correct.

So even though it's retained the HMDP name, it's really open to all genders, all ethnicities, all cultures, all identifications, regardless.

You know, if it's mother-daughter or if it's father-son, father and- - [Catherine] Daughter.

- daughter, (chuckles) yes.

(Catherine laughs) But yeah, tiya, tiyo, it doesn't matter.

Like everybody is welcome to join, yeah.

- So it's expanded, but the goal is still the same.

And that is to increase the number of first-generation Arizona students who are qualified and prepared for higher education.

The success, as I mentioned, is remarkable.

Statistics show that a hundred percent of HMDP 12th graders graduate high school in four years.

More than 80% of the program graduates attend an institution of higher education directly after graduation.

I mean the numbers say it all.

What makes this program so enduring?

- So I think there are several factors that lead to that.

One is that we know that a lot of our families who are first-generation families really need that extra support, knowledge, and guidance, on how to help their students prepare academically for the admissions requirements to universities.

So that's something is that, you know, we provide that level of guidance and support with one-on-one attention and direction.

The other thing that I think is really integral is that this is a family- - [Catherine] Yes.

- event, right?

This is a family support system that families get to do this together and get the information in live and real-time together.

- Yes, indeed.

The program has served more than 23 student, 2,300, I should say, parent-student teams and just last year, had more than 800 participants.

I mean, that's phenomenal.

Joining me now is two members of one of those teams, Elena and Kayla are here with us.

And Elena, I wanted to ask you how you first found out about the program.

- Okay.

First of all, thank you so much for having us here today.

- Thank you for being here.

- One of our teachers from Junior High recommend us the program, but it wasn't until she started high school that we applied for the program, and we got accepted.

After that, we found out that my nephew is a student of HMDP and they love it.

Him and his parents love the program.

And thanks to HMDP, he's graduating this year from high school.

- [Catherine] Fabulous.

- And he already applied and got accepted to a few universities- - [Catherine] That's terrific.

- including ASU.

- [Catherine] Wonderful.

- Yes.

- And what do you love the most about the program?

- Everything.

They have so much information for us.

They are so, they work so hard for us, for us to be ready for our kids to be prepared for university.

- What about you, Kayla?

I mean, how much of a difference has this program made for you in the last two years that you've been involved?

- This program has really inspired me to continue with my education.

Like based on the classes they've been giving me, like all the requirements and the experiences and the realities of university, it really shows me how important it is as a Hispanic and what's really cool about it is that I don't have to go to these classes alone.

My mom can always accompany me, and we can both learn about my education and my future.

And what I really like about HMDP is that it's a very friendly environment, and all the people there, the students, it's really welcoming.

- And how has it enriched your relationship with your mom to be able to do this together?

- It's really like, it strengthened our bonds and it kind of mixed up our views about education and the value of having a successful future, and this really connected us more, and we've just- Agree on everything.

- agree on everything.

(Elena, Kayla, and Catherine laugh) - You gotta love that.

- Yeah.

- Thank you, ladies.

Doctor, I wanna just go back to this for a second.

This importance of the family component and why that makes such a difference?

- So we know that, right?

When you have family support to help motivate you, to help guide you, to help really understand your interests and your passions, especially related to education, that a student is more successful.

So when you have, you know, a mother or a father, or a family system that's all supportive of your educational goals, like it really does make a difference and it helps motivate and empower the student to be academically successful.

- And empowers the parents too when they're involved.

- Exactly, yeah.

- Talk to me a little bit about why it's impactful also to reach these students at this younger age.

Because they are allowed to be accepted into the program as young as seventh grade, right?

- [Dr. Alicia] Correct, eighth grade.

- [Catherine] Eighth grade.

- Mm-hmm, yes.

So it's really opportunistic for the student to start preparing academically as early as possible to give them the advantage of more opportunities later.

Because we know the earlier you prepare, the more opportunities are available to you, yeah.

- So they take part in the program, they're having access to very important workshops.

Can you tell me a little bit about the types of workshops and programs that you present for these families?

- Oh, yeah.

So they can range in terms of, you know, what's a good GPA that you need to strive for, try to attain?

What are SATs or ACT test scores are needed?

What classes do you need to graduate from high school with in order to be admitted to an institution of higher education, as well as topics on financial aid, scholarships, grants, loans.

And then in addition to that, we talk about what are some, we'll call them like additional support?

Things that you might need in terms of like how can your parents help support you along the way?

How can you as a student talk to your parent about your educational goals and aspirations?

- Right.

So really, everybody's learning together.

- Correct.

- Now, I know that the program is designed to encourage students to attend ASU, but they don't have to attend ASU to participate.

- Correct, no.

We're just more interested in making sure that students have the opportunity to access higher education as an option rather than them not being prepared.

- Yeah.

And if they do choose to go to ASU, you have scholarships available for them as well, right?

- Yes, we do.

So the HMD Program itself, among many other scholarships that are available at ASU-HMDP offers scholarships for students who graduate from the program as well.

They just have to apply.

- And you both have been in the program for two years.

Do you intend to remain there till you graduate?

- Yes, of course.

- Of course, yes.

- And has this influenced what you're sort of thinking about in terms of studying when you do go to college?

- Yes, it really has.

It's just like, it just shows me the importance of university, you know?

I don't, I'm sorry, I don't know how to explain it, but it's just like, it really motivates me to go to school, so I can graduate and then possibly, get a scholarship and go to university and study what I love and have an amazing future and job that I know I'm gonna be comfortable in.

- Well, that's obviously something really wonderful to hear as a parent, right?

- [Elena] Mm-hmm, of course.

- Elena and Kayla, thank you so much.

Before we go, Doctor, if you could just talk a little bit about the process involved in applying for the program?

- Yes.

So application at this point, you do not have to start as an eighth grader to be in the program.

You can now enter the program at any grade level from eighth through 12th grade.

So like let's say that this is your senior year, you can still apply to be part of the program and still get all the knowledge and information that you need, even starting now.

Then the next process would be to go to our website, which is eoss.asu.edu.

And you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, and you can request more information, or you can click on Apply Now.

- Wasn't a difficult process, right ladies?

- Not at all.

- No.

(Catherine and Elena laughs) - But worth it?

- Oh, yes.

- Yeah.

- Absolutely.

Well, thank you all three for being here and congratulations once again for the 40 years of the success of this program and a much continued success to both of you ladies as you spend another two wonderful years involved in the program as well.

And good luck at the university level.

- Thank you.

- Thank you so much.

- Good to see you all.

Thank you.

- Thank you.

- And that's our show for "Horizonte" in Arizona PBS.

I'm Catherine Anaya.

Thanks for watching.

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