BENTONVILLE Ark.
Making the jump from high school to college can be difficult enough, let alone taking classes in a language other than your native tongue.

At Northwest Arkansas Community College, officials hope a five-week program reaching out to high school seniors coming there next year will help ease the transition.

The "Paso-a-Paso" program, or Step-by-Step in English, includes classes, guest lectures and games to help students and parents prepare for college. The program includes having the incoming college students mentor students at Springdale High School.

Laura Garcia, 18, said she had her doubts about attending college after graduating from Rogers High School.

"I'm a bit scared," Garcia said. "I told my mom some days that I don't want to go. I don't tell her that anymore. I tell her I want to continue my education and go to study overseas."

The program, paid for by a $71,500 grant from the Care Foundation of Springdale, began in 2000 and ran for three years before running out of funding. Funding again will run out next year, but officials hope to find the money to continue it.

"The whole focus is on preparation for college," said Shawn Zimbrunes, the college's director of community outreach. "We want them to know that everyone has the option of going to college. It doesn't matter what their fears are or what their families' fears are."

Garcia's father works in construction and her mother works in a fast-food restaurant. She is enrolled in the college's new culinary arts program and hopes to become a chef.

"I saw the chance to have a better opportunity," Garcia said. "I saw how my parents struggled."

Garcia's mother, Rosa Nunez, said she's proud of her daughter.

"It's good for her, and it will help her to do a lot in life and be successful," Nunez said in Spanish.

Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,

http://www.arkansasonline.com

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