TIFTON – Thanks to a five-year federal grant worth $2.125 million, the College Assistance Migrant Program has returned to the campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College after a one-year absence.

“The successful grant application was a joint effort by the Office of Multicultural Education programs and ABAC’s Office of Sponsored Programs,” said Javier Gonzalez, Director of Multicultural Education Programs at ABAC.

The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) assists migrant first-year college undergraduates. CAMP provides discretionary grants to Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), or other non-profit organizations in cooperation with an IHE, to offer tutoring, counseling, health services, assistance with special admissions, and some financial assistance to enable migrant youth to successfully complete their first year of post-secondary education. Students are also assisted with obtaining financial aid to help with the remainder of their undergraduate academic careers.

After the grant application was turned down last year, Gonzalez took a different approach this time around.

“Typically, my staff and I gather data for the grant, and then I coordinate with Betty McCorvey from the Sponsored Programs office on developing the proposal,” said Gonzalez. “For this grant, we looked at the feedback from our last grant application that was not approved and made modifications from there to address any deficiencies in the application.”

ABAC was in the running with other colleges and universities across the country as a new applicant in order to receive the CAMP grant. Gonzalez and McCorvey also underwent training from the U.S. Department of Education on the grant process to better understand the priorities of the grant committee.

CAMP students have become a vital part of ABAC since the first federal grant for the program was approved in 1999. Gonzalez points to the success that students achieve as a result of the support of the Office of Multicultural Education.

“CAMP students have taken on leadership positions on campus in areas including the Student Government Association, student life, and academics,” Gonzalez said. “It contributes greatly to ABAC’s diversity efforts by attracting students and staff from diverse backgrounds.”

The Office of Multicultural Education has already begun taking steps to ensure the future of CAMP.

“We have to continue to offer CAMP our support from ABAC and ensure that our students progress academically and graduate on time,” Gonzalez said. “We will do this through continuing to recruit highly-qualified students who are committed to their education.”

Gonzalez said the program is funded to service 32 students annually but because the notice of the award was not received until July, there are only 25 CAMP students enrolled for the fall term.

ABAC Release