In the fall of 2025, the BUENO Center received a Notice of Non-Continuation from the Department of Education ending federal funding for its College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) scholarship grant. The notice indicated that the grant was “inconsistent, and no longer effectuates, the best interest” of the current administration. The BUENO Center first implemented CAMP in the early 1990s and, after a brief funding lapse, brought it back in the early 2000s. The program aimed to support the academic goals of college-going students with migrant and seasonal farm worker (MSFW) backgrounds in northeastern Colorado. After transitioning from BUENO’s High School Equivalency Program (HEP), the CAMP grant made it even more possible to support MSFW students throughout their journey from GED to PhD.  

For migrant farm worker families who literally feed us through their hard work in the agricultural industry, programming that supports opportunity for their children’s post-secondary success has been drastically depleted. Former Patitos scholar Natalia Fuentes recalls the feeling when she heard the news. “I was heartbroken to learn that the program that helped me pursue my dreams would no longer be there to change the lives of others who needed it just as much as I did.”

Breaking the Funding Boundaries

Fortunately, the BUENO Center staff are self-proclaimed tercos and refuse to give up so easily. The scholarship program is thriving under its new name “Patitos,” a title derived from a nickname the students gave the program’s director, Dr. Robert Garcia. Patitos Assistant Director, Jessely Chaparro, recalls when she was a participant in the program, “we called him Robertito Patito because we found ourselves following him in a straight line, even if he didn’t know where he was going…we were right behind him.” After earning her associate’s degree as a participant in the program, Jessely joined the Patitos team on her way to earning a master’s degree. Since then, she has been instrumental in keeping the program alive with funding growing evermore uncertain. Having worked with several foundations across Colorado, she has been able to connect the BUENO Center to these local funding sources to support the program’s persistence in the face of federal cuts. Dr. Garcia explains, “we are still here today, in part because of private donations, and the university’s support, but also because Jessely was able to plug us into the local foundations that want to see us continue our mission.” 

The team at BUENO all felt keeping the program alive was imperative, both because of the decline in services for Colorado’s MSFW population but also because of the proven impact the Patitos program has had on the lives of this community. Dr. Tania Hogan, the Executive Director of the BUENO Center, shares, “the funding may have ended, but the need did not, and neither did our commitment to the students, families, and communities who have trusted us for generations. Grant funding has a beginning and an end date; however, the relationships with a community do not work that way.”

Breaking the Boundaries of Low Expectations

The program’s effectiveness is clear. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Migrant Education by Nieto and Garcia found that BUENO’s Patitos program not only opened doors to higher education for MSFW students, but also made them more than twice as likely to graduate than  their peers. When Dr. Garcia began working with the program, he made it a priority to document the program’s impact by tracking the students’ long-term progress. Since 2006, 572 MSFW students have participated in the program and they have gone on to earn 646 degrees, from Associate Degrees and Certifications, to Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees. With a consistent 67% graduation rate, the program’s success is undeniable, especially considering the average community college graduation rate across Colorado typically sits in the 30%-39% range (CCCS, 2026). Starting at a community college has proven to open possibilities for students to not only pursue career technical education (CTE) degrees and certifications, but also transfer to four-year universities, earning bachelor’s degrees and beyond. Dr. Garcia explains, “community colleges have a bad reputation in part because a good number of students who start in these institutions do not complete their program of study, but that’s not the case for our scholars. Our students graduate at higher rates, transfer at higher rates, and go on to do some amazing things in their lives and careers. It would be a crime to hinder their potential when you see all they accomplish.”

With a strong empirical justification for the program’s merit, the next frontier is understanding why scholars do so well in the program. “I feel like it’s all about the familia we build together, in this small community of Patitos”, shares Katia, a scholar from the 2025-26 cohort. Her peer, Jackie, adds, “the scholarship dollars get you in the door, but what we do as a group is really what supports our success, like with the tutorial support, the advising we get and strong sense of belonging that is established throughout the year.” Beyond financial assistance, the program provides wraparound services that promote academic progress and prepare scholars for future career success. 

Going Beyond 

Despite the obstacles that come with the ever-present threat of cuts to programming, the BUENO Center Patitos staff remain vigilant in their mission. Dr. Garcia expounds, “it is both an obligation and a privilege to work with our scholars and I cannot think of a more rewarding and necessary responsibility.”

For more information about the Patitos Scholarship program or to support this and the other work of the BUENO Center, visit www.buenocamp.com.

Sources

-Colorado Community College System. (2026). Graduation data. https://cccs.edu/data/systemwide/graduation/

-Nieto, D. & Garcia, R., (2021). Migrant students and College Assistance Migrant Programs: A promising pathway to higher education success. The Journal of Migrant Education.

About the Author

Dr. Robert Garcia serves as a research associate, lecturer and program director at the University of Colorado’s BUENO Center for Multicultural Education. His work spans educational research, program development and postsecondary success initiatives for migrant students and culturally and linguistically diverse populations.