UF’s Hispanic-Latino Affairs partnered with the Alachua County Migrant Education Program on Monday to establish monthly tours for migrant high school students.
Diana Moreno, a 28-year-old UF Latin American studies alumna, said she worked for ACMEP when she graduated in 2011.
Moreno, now the program coordinator at HLA, said she held the first tour Feb. 15.
“The first stop was at La Casita, where we talked to them one-on-one about college, if they have any questions about resources and the things that HLA offers, as well as the university,” Moreno said.
The tour also included stops at Library West, Turlington Plaza, the Plaza of the Americas and the Reitz Union, she said.
The children Moreno tutored need more from their local university, she said, and she began to plan the collaboration in January.
Moreno said she hopes the program helps nomadic students overcome barriers to their education.
“A lot of migrant children might attend two to three schools a year because their parents migrant depending on crops and their season,” she said.
Sarai Chavarria, a 25-year-old UF history senior, helped Moreno lead the first tour.
Chavarria, an HLA ambassador, also belongs to Chispas, a UF organization meant to provide immigrant students and their families with scholarships and guidance on citizenship.
“We service migrant children in making sure that they continue their public education, because UF has to serve all Gators no matter their background, and this program is doing that,” Chavarria said.
