Evelynn Guzman de Leon was promoted to director of the College Assistance Migrant Program at Metropolitan State University of Denver in June after serving as interim director for three months. Guzman de Leon is passionate about CAMP after starting with the program in 2018 as a student-retention specialist followed by a promotion to assistant director of achievement. She began her career at MSU Denver as a new-student orientation coordinator in 2015. HDR
“I believe in our mission wholeheartedly, which is to support the completion of the first year of college of eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their children by providing comprehensive outreach and enrollment assistance, academic support, financial aid and social opportunities,” Guzman de Leon said. “I have witnessed the impact of this program on students from agricultural backgrounds who would have never dreamed they could go to college or have a career. Our program helped them make this dream a reality. I am just so grateful to lead an amazing team that also believes in what we do.”
Guzman de Leon spoke with the Early Bird about her upcoming goals for CAMP and how faculty and staff members can help upcoming Roadrunners participating in the program this fall.
What does fall look like for CAMP?
“This upcoming year at MSU Denver, we are excited to welcome a full cohort of students, 97% of whom identify as first-generation, 83% identify as Latinx/Hispanic and 87% speak a language other than English at home. We expect that above 86% of these students will complete their first year of college earning at least 24 credits in good academic standing by spring 2023.”
What are your goals for CAMP?
“Short-term, our goal is to support 30 incoming students to attend college and complete their first 24 credits at MSU Denver. We also have the goal to extend our partnerships list to include more academic departments in the hopes of creating awareness about the program and more opportunities for supporting our students. More specifically, we want to connect our exploratory students to STEM opportunities in the hopes of promoting a career interest in STEM.”
How can faculty and staff members help support students?
“The more folks know about and advertise CAMP, the better we do at identifying eligible students. Being aware of what we do is Step One, and connecting students from agricultural backgrounds to us is Step Two. We‘ll do the hard part of identifying if they are eligible! We are also always open to partnerships that expose students to other resources, services and just overall campus community members who may want to support them. For example, we have collaborated a few times with the School of Hospitality to bring our students and make pizzas, which they really enjoy! I have also connected with the History Department to explore the possibility of curriculum on migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the U.S. and having our students take the course to meet their History general–education requirement. These partnerships really help our students find a sense of belonging at MSU Denver and graduate from our institution.”
What do you like to do in your spare time?
“I’m a proud mama to a 9-month-old, and I live for spending time with my family and engaging in activities in my community. My family lives outside of Colorado on both coasts of the country, so we also like to spend time traveling to Philadelphia and Los Angeles.”