'No reason for me not to do it': CSU Pueblo program helps migrant students earn their GEDs

James Bartolo, Pueblo Chieftain
·3 min read
1

After graduating an inaugural cohort of 12 students, the High School Equivalency Program at Colorado State University Pueblo has plans to serve 70 students each year.

The federally-funded program helps migrant workers and their children earn a GED certificate. Adult education programs have been in Pueblo for decades, but the inaugural cohort that graduated from the High School Equivalency Program on June 29 was CSU Pueblo's first since it began facilitating the program.

"CSU Pueblo has never had a GED program," said Victoria Obregon, CSU Pueblo's assistant director of the Center for International Programs and Inclusive Excellence. "Adult Education is very important in the aspect that we are here to serve a different demographic at CSU Pueblo."

Graduates of the High School Equivalency Program wait to hear their names called during a ceremony at Colorado State University Pueblo's Occhiato Student Center on June 29, 2023.
Graduates of the High School Equivalency Program wait to hear their names called during a ceremony at Colorado State University Pueblo's Occhiato Student Center on June 29, 2023.

What the High School Equivalency program provides

CSU Pueblo's inaugural cohort included graduates ages 17 to 62. Each of them donned a black cap and gown with aspirations to enter the workforce or continue their education. Among the graduates was Mayra Gonzalez, a 32-year-old mother of three with aspirations to take English classes and pursue a cosmetology career in Pueblo.

Gonzalez came to Pueblo from Juarez, Mexico about nine years ago with her family. She describes the Steel City as "very peaceful" with opportunities for her and her children. She decided to enroll in the High School Equivalency Program to take the next step toward her career dreams.

Like her classmates in the program, Gonzalez received an iPad, Apple Pencil, a keyboard and five books free of charge. She said having those resources provided for her was further motivation to earn her GED certificate.

"It was very emotional because there was no reason for me not to do it now," Gonzalez said. "I felt very grateful and I could do what I set out to do because I had the materials to do it."

In addition to getting free class materials, students also did not have to pay to take the language arts, math, science and social studies tests for their GED certificate.

How the program is funded and what it entails

The High School Equivalency Program at CSU Pueblo is a collaboration with Kansas State University and is funded through a five-year, $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. CSU Pueblo is currently in the first year of the program.

By design, the program aims to be flexible with a student's schedule. Students meet for class once a week, are part of a group chat and have a tutor that can visit students off-site. CSU Pueblo also facilitates classes online for students who are not able to make in-person classes.

"We have all those items to really support that student that can't make a traditional high school class or that is older and had to choose work over education at that point to support their family," Obregon said.

Classes for the High School Equivalency Program are provided during fall, winter, spring and summer semesters. For more information about the program, individuals may contact Obregon at victoria.obregon@csupueblo.edu or call 719-549-2402.

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

Others are reading: Here's how a Pueblo online school has grown to be the largest high school in Colorado

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: How a CSU Pueblo program is helping migrant students earn their GEDs