New Mexico is home to over 40 million acres of farmland creating a large need for seasonal workers. These jobs are often challenging and can make going to college or assisting their children in college difficult. Martha Estrada with NMSU’s College Assistance Migrant Program or CAMP says that they are here to help.
“We provide students with academic, social, and financial support their first year of college. We are also very fortunate to be able to provide students with support beyond their first year thanks to funding we received from the state," Estrada said.
Nationwide, the CAMP program dates back to 1967 and was started as a part of the War on Poverty. As more funding started to enter the program, it grew across the country with NMSU CAMP opening in 2002. Soon after, Martha joined the team.
“I was the first academic advisor the program ever had and it was the best job I ever had because I was able to serve students. Even though I was never a farm worker myself, I am first generation. I was the first in my Mexican-American family to go to college," Estrada said.
Entering college can be a struggle for many students but Martha says that for students with a similar background as her, this struggle can be amplified.
“I for example loved exposing our students to something as simple as going to a play here on campus or going to a lecture or just walking over to a poster session or going to a dining etiquette workshop. I really enjoyed doing that as an advisor," Estrada said.
Martha says that the favorite part of her job is helping students succeed in college. One of these students is Fatima Oliveros.
“I started working in the field since I was little. In Mexico I used to help on vacations to my family and then I started coming to Deming in the summer. I have picked up chile, green and red. The last time I worked in the fields was my freshman year here in college," Oliveros said.
Fatima has been working with CAMP since her junior year of high school. With their help, she is pursuing a degree in Nursing and Spanish.
“My parents were not going to be able to help me in a financial way because they live in Mexico. So with CAMP I found a way to get more money and pay my tuition and help me with rent, food," Oliveros said.
Dr. Cythia Bejarano is CAMP’s principal investigator at NMSU and oversees the program on a larger scale. She says that the students are what help make the program successful.
"They have an excellent, excellent work ethic and that helps them get them through the finish line. We work with their parents very closely as well so I think that helps to debunk the idea that once students start college they are 100% on their own," Bejarano said.
Seasonal workers face many unique challenges. CAMP says that their goal is to help these students achieve their goals ranging from arts to nursing like Fatima.
