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Jesus Ayala: I went to school in McAllen - Nikki Rowe High School - and they..
That's where I heard about the Migrant Student Program.
Peggy Wimberley: I've worked with the Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program for twenty five years
and from the beginning we have helped students graduate from high school by
giving them opportunities to earn high school credit
at any time and any place.
Migrant students need alternative methods of earning high school credit
because they miss school when they migrate with their families to harvest crops.
Often they leave school
before the spring semester is even over and they don't return until the fall
semester is already underway.
So they need alternative ways that they can take courses outside of the traditional
time frame in the classroom.
Luz Hinojosa: We offer course work through online delivery format
as well as c_d_-rom and print courses
to allow students access to all the courses according to their
internet access and computer access.
JA: When there's a program like the
UT Migrant Student Program there to help you out; catch up to your
classes or get ahead so you won't get behind
then,
you know, it's an awesome thing.
PW: Since students are the children of farmworkers and they have the experience of
working in the fields
they know more than many students how important it is to get an education.
They know through an education they will no longer have to work long hours in the fields
and they will be able to help their families.
JA: If you're given an opportunity to
go to college and
you know, break that cycle -
you know, that's the best thing in the world.
Linda Glessner: The Migrant Student Graduation Program
is an exemplary program in the Continuing & Innovative Education portfolio.
And the reason for that is because
it really represents our strategic vision, our mission,
of reaching out to the greater community
and providing learning opportunities for anyone that has a desire to learn.
PW: Our program began twenty five years ago
in response to request for proposals by the Texas Education Agency.
TEA was looking for a program
that would serve the unique needs of migrant students and would give them an
opportunity to earn credit in any time any place.
LH: And twenty five years later, the partnership is still strong
but along the way we've strengthened other collaborations
at the local level such as very dedicated
educators and counselors; very committed parents.
LG: One that very few people know about
is that the Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program also trains
other migrant educators from around the country.
And I think that speaks very highly of
the staff and of the quality of the program
in that, we've been chosen
at the national level
to reach out to other educators around the country.
JA: Now, I work as a Financial Operational and IT auditor
for a company called Temple-Inland. I do everything from fraud investigations to
IT auditing work.
PW: Many of the students who come through our program
are the first in their families to graduate from high school.
Some of those students go on to college
and some of our college graduates are now working in the careers they dreamed
about when they first started participating in our program.
Students are practicing law, working as teachers, working as engineers and
working in the business community.
JA: I plan to go back to school. I actually plan to come to UT and get my
masters here - hopefully, with the McCombs Business School.
LG: I just want to congratulate the Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program on it's
twenty-fifth year anniversary
and here's to another great twenty five years.
William Powers: The Student Migrant Program is celebrating it's twenty-fifth anniversary
and on behalf of the entire university I want to give my
most heart felt congratulations
to the people who have worked
for twenty five years on this program
and most importantly to all of the students.
Steven Leslie: Let me say thanks to each student
in this wonderful
Migrant Student Program
but let me also thank the parents who worked so hard to have their students
spend time and get through this program
and our teachers and our staff members who truly invested the time and the effort
in what has made this program
a wonderful program at University of Texas at Austin.
WP: We very often say that
what starts here changes the world and we transform lives
and that is absolutely true
and there's no better case
than this program.
SL: So congratulations on twenty five years for a wonderful program
and let's have another twenty five.
Well, I would like to thank the Migrant Student Program for helping me
and students like me for the past twenty-five years and helping them reach
their goals and graduating high school and eventually going to
a university and hopefully they help -
they keep helping people
for twenty five more years and more.
LG: This program is evidence
that what Continuing
& Innovative Education is doing
is making dreams come true.
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