MSU received a $1.8 million High School Equivalency Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help migrant worker youths and adults complete their high school degree requirements.
The award will be announced at a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Red Cedar B room at the Kellogg Center.
“Michigan State has had a tradition of improving access and availability for student education that deals with industry, and agriculture is one of the biggest industries in Michigan,” MSU Trustee Dorothy Gonzales said.
The five-year grant will cover housing, room and board for people recruited into the program, as well as administrative costs and staffing. A weekly stipend also will be given to participants for personal expenses not covered by room and board.
MSU is the only Michigan institution to earn the award.
“There are very few schools that have the resources or history that we do at MSU for such a program,” said Louis Garcia, director of the HEP program. “Students that get into HEP come from all over Michigan, and often are supporting families making only $10,000 to $12,000 a year.”
Giving students in the program the opportunity to complete their degree opens employment opportunities dramatically, Garcia said.
“Often workers can’t apply for certain jobs at all because they lack their high school diploma,” he said. “Without that education, it is very difficult to support a household.”
Each year, 50 students ages 18 and older will take part in the 12-week program, which begins with a week of orientation and ends in final preparations for their general education diploma testing. Companies will discuss what jobs are available at the program’s end.
“Program participants are often not interested in long-term studies,” Garcia said. “They want to go to work immediately. So these companies will come in and say, ‘This is what we have to offer now.’”
HEP is a sister program of MSU’s College Assistance Migrant Program, which aids migrant students in their first year of college with financial, personal and academic support. Students will work with those involved in HEP as mentor advocates.
“The CAMP students, having a similar experience (as HEP students), act as a resource support,” HEP Project Coordinator Marcelina Trevino-Savala said. “They work getting the HEP students acclimated in the residence halls as well as acting as a mentor to them during their time here.”
