ASU’s Hispanic Mother Daughter program celebrates 40 years

The Arizona State University Hispanic Mother Daughter Program (HMDP) celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024. The program was designed to help first-generation college students get a degree and has expanded to help all students regardless of ethnicity. It is an early-outreach middle and high school program designed to increase the number of first-generation Arizona students who are qualified and prepared to enroll at ASU through direct family involvement.

We spoke with Dr. Alicia Iniguez with Access ASU, Elena Esquivel Rojas and her daughter, Kayla Esquivel.

“Even though it’s retained the HMDP name, it’s really open to all genders, all ethnicities, all cultures, all identifications regardless of if it’s mother-daughter or if it’s father-son,” Dr. Iniguez said. “Everybody is welcome to join.”

The program has served over 2,300 parent-student teams. Just last year, there were over 800 participants. Rojas said she learned about the program from her daughters’ junior high school teacher.

“It wasn’t until she started high school that we applied for the program and got accepted,” Rojas said. “After that, we found out that my nephew is a student of HMDP, and they love it. He and his parents love the program. Thanks to HMDP, he’s graduating this year from high school, and he already applied and got accepted into a few universities, including ASU.”

Esquivel said the program has inspired her to continue her education. “Based on the classes they’ve been giving me, all the requirements and experiences and the realities of university really shows me how important it is as a Hispanic,” Esquivel said. “What’s really cool about it is that I don’t have to go to these classes alone. My mom can accompany me, and we can both learn about my education and my future.”

Esquivel said she really enjoys the friendly environment the HMDP provides and how welcoming everybody is.