Migrants march to future

Participants of Cal State's High School Equivalency Program graduate.

Filed: June 21, 2001

By SILVIO J. PANTA
Californian staff writer
e-mail: spanta@bakersfield.com

Luz and Carlos Arambula are not only mother and son but schoolmates as well.

On Wednesday night, they became graduates.

"I went to school to encourage my kids to keep studying," Luz Arambula said in Spanish. "I'm very happy and very motivated to keep studying and live with dignity in the U.S."

Luz Arambula, a former teacher in Mexico, was among 56 other graduates who completed a bilingual education program for migrant and seasonal farm workers. They participated in a lively commencement ceremony at Cal State Bakersfield's Doré Theatre.

The small graduating class of the 2001 High School Equivalency Program (HEP) was the first to successfully finish its studies in Kern County in less than six months.

"She always tried to encourage me," 21-year-old Carlos Arambula said of his mother, who will attend Bakersfield College in the fall. He'll attend CSUB.

"(She told us) that we can make the dream come true, and that an education is very important for everybody," Carlos said.

HEP Program Coordinator Lou Montano agrees.

"A lot of the graduates are going to junior colleges," Montano said. "The GED (General Education Development) is a start for them. They're very excited about receiving the opportunity."

The HEP program is aimed at helping seasonal farm workers get their high school equivalency diploma through the GED test.

In September, Cal State Bakersfield was awarded a five-year, $397,000 federal grant to implement the HEP program in Kern County, Montano said.

The courses, which began in January at Arvin, McFarland and Shafter high schools, focused on five core subjects: literature and arts, science, social studies, writing, and mathematics.

To qualify, students either needed 75 days or 600 hours of migrant or seasonal work within the past two years under their belt, Montano said.

Students are required to attend four three-hour classes during the week from 6 to 9 p.m., said Lori de Leon, a HEP program administrative assistant.

Students are given books, on-site tutors and instructors, and even a daily stipend for travel expenses. In addition, the $60 GED test fee is covered in the program, officials said.

Manuel Balcazar, a native of Guanajuato, Mexico, distinguished himself among the graduates by scoring the highest on the GED test. He graduated with his brother, Nicolas.

A whiz in science, Balcazar said he yearned to know more about the cosmos since childhood. That's why he plans to become an astronomer.

"I realize you can get all the opportunities you want if you keep studying," Balcazar said.

Amid the noise of crying infants and restless children, Arvin High School Principal Blanca Cavazos drew loud applause during her commencement address for encouraging people of all ages to never give up the goal of pursuing a higher education.

"It's never too late to learn," she said in Spanish before looking at the graduates and adding, "What you did is demonstrate (to your peers) the importance of education."