In an effort to motivate students to attend college, Sigma Lambda Beta, a Latino fraternity, gave students from Amphitheater High School a taste of college life yesterday.
Twelve high school students met with the fraternity, which works in conjunction with Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, a college outreach program, to prepare and encourage low-income students for higher education.
Students from the Tucson high school toured McKale Center, the Student Recreation Center, the Student Union Memorial Center and the Chicano/Hispano Student Center. They said the tour was informational and educational.
"It gives you more of an idea of what to do to get to college," said Ashley Pomaski, Amphitheater sophomore.
At the Chicano/Hispano Student Center, Sigma Lambda Beta member Marco Arredondo, a political science sophomore, said students asked how to get financial aid and scholarships, and about what college classes are like.
Arredondo said the fraternity hosts events like this to reach out to minority students who need role models.
"High school students are discouraged to attend the UA because they're scared," Arredondo said. "They don't see a lot of role models that are attending the UA."
The fraternity, whose motto is "opportunity for wisdom, wisdom for culture," often hosts similar outreach projects to let underprivileged students know they have opportunities to attend college, Arredondo said.
"College is something that is attainable," said Sigma Lambda Beta member Alex Matus, a junior majoring in special education and deaf studies. "A lot of them are interested in going to our classes to experience ... college ... for the first time," he said.
Fraternity members said they identify with these students because they went through similar experiences. Arredondo said the 16-member fraternity does not have a house on campus and none of them is rich.
"We use what we have and try to get the best out of it," Arredondo said.
David Lord, coordinator of retention at Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs, joined the students on their tour and commended the fraternity for reaching out to the community.
"A lot of these students are minorities. And if these minority students can make it, (the high school students) can make it," Lord said.
Minnie Almader, GEAR UP facilitator and teacher at Amphitheater, said she thinks direct exposure to college and communication with the fraternity members will impact Amphitheater students more than she will.
"I think it's great that (UA) students can talk about what the college experience has been like," she said.
Students at Amphitheater said Sigma Lambda Beta and GEAR UP's efforts help them learn about college life and plan for it.
"My mom wants me to attend the UA. It's her dream to have one of her children attend the UA," said Pomaski, who plans on attending the UA after going to Pima Community College.
GEAR UP is a program administered by the Office of Early Academic Outreach to promote college education for underprivileged minority students.