The Migrant Student Oral History Project

Project (M.A., History (Public History)) -- California State University, Sacramento, 2011.Students from farm-worker backgrounds are represented in very small numbers throughout higher education. The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at Sacramento State University aspires to change this by providing academic support services to migrant students and their families throughout Northern California. CAMP helps students??? bridge the gap between their future university lives and their farm-working past by recognizing key linkages and supports roles that are essential to the effective and efficient adaptation to college life for migrant students. Most importantly, CAMP provides a ???home away from home??? for all its students, a place where they can belong and seek personal and academic support in a family-like environment. The oral histories presented in this project add a personal essence to the limited body of literature on the migrant student experience in college. \ud \ud \ud \ud Sources of Data:\ud The Migrant Student Oral History Project uses three videotaped oral interviews as a primary source of data collection to describe the college experience of Sacramento State/CAMP migrant students who are now graduates of this institution. The project documents the way these students perceived their upbringing, rose above the obstacles and transformed their perception throughout their college years. \ud Conclusions Reached: \ud Many studies too often focus on the barriers that prevent migrant students from succeeding in college. The three participants in this project are a prime example of how success can be achieved in college regardless of background. The intent of this project is to provide a greater depth of understanding of the college experience of students from migrant and seasonal farm working backgrounds. My goal is to use The Migrant Student Oral History Project DVD as an educational tool to further motivate migrant students in K-12 to pursue a college degree.History (Public History