Making the decision about where to go after high school is very stressful. It often helps to be able to visit colleges and get a first hand experience beforehand. The Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors) College Access program has partnered with Latino Memphis to help latino students become more knowledgeable in their search for a college. 

“Our goal is to provide students with holistic support as they explore options and opportunities for their future. Our hope is that students learn about the diverse paths that are available to them,” Susan Satar said, who is a part of the administrative staff at White Station.

Over the course of a month, a small group of students who are members of the Abriendo Puertas program have travelled to four colleges to get a taste of college life. The colleges they visited were Moore Tech, Christian Brothers University, Rhodes College, and the University of Memphis. The trips were coordinated by Georgia Garros, from Latino Memphis.

“On this trip we were able to get an idea on how college was and the layout of it as well as getting to know how much it was financially and how it was to live on campus or off campus,” Ayleen Gamino (11) said.

This was the first year that the program has put together this trip and they hope to do it again as the program continues to develop in the years to come. 

“This trip was important to me because as a first generation graduate in my family it was important for me to go look around colleges and see what interests me the most,” Gamino said.