Migrant students get college advice

While their parents toiled in the fields, Flor Gonzalez and Melissa Cisneros worked hard at school.

Long hours, little pay, many tears, all for one thing: A dream for a better life in the United States, with education paramount. Still, there were a lot of hurdles. Flor and Melissa couldn't ask for help with their homework - it was all in English. At times, their parents migrated from place to place in search of agricultural work. And there was never any money.

Flor, 17, and Melissa, 18, will graduate this year from Estero High School's medical academy program, already well-prepared for a career in nursing, which they both want. And soon, they both will fulfill the dream of many children of migrant farmworkers: a college education.

More than two dozen high school juniors and seniors gathered Wednesday at Florida Gulf Coast University to get advice on furthering their education after high school. All are migrant students, which means their parents or guardians have moved in the last three years to seek seasonal or agricultural work. The students selected to attend, all from Lee County Schools, have a GPA of 2.5 or higher, giving them a fair shot at attending Florida Gulf Coast University or Edison College after graduating.

Migrant students are especially at risk for dropping out, and many have trouble getting into or finding financing for college. That's why it's especially important to make sure they have access to information about scholarships, said Lee Schools' migrant coordinator Emilia Berni. Wednesday, she brought together students and representatives of FGCU, Edison College, High Tech Central and the Florida Interstate Migrant Program.

"The intimidation factor of going to the office, often not knowing the language, or not knowing where to go, it makes it hard," Berni said. "This gives them a chance to come and to talk to people from colleges."