California CAMP Leadership Conference returns to Fresno State
The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP)—which supports students from migrant or seasonal farmworker families—recently hosted the California CAMP Leadership Conference at Fresno State.
The conference was held at various locations across campus from March 10 through 12, offering CAMP students the opportunity to network, develop skills and grow into leaders.
The California CAMP Leadership Conference was first established in 2008, after California had established seven CAMPs as well as a California CAMP Consortium. The conference was last hosted at Fresno State in 2016.
For the duration of the conference, students attended educational and inspirational workshops presented by young professionals as well as keynote addresses from professionals working in education and public health. To encourage participation and expand their leadership skills, students also had opportunities throughout the course of the conference to be entered for a chance to win a one thousand dollar giveaway.
University President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval gave welcoming remarks at the conference, recounting his own experience growing up in a farmworker family in the Valley and being a first-generation college student.
Ofelia Gamez, director of Fresno State’s CAMP, also delivered a short speech at the conference, speaking on the support network that CAMP offers students across the nation. She said, “As you go through college and start to think about graduate school, I want you to know that you can go anywhere. Your familia is not just at your [current campus], it’s everywhere.”
There are currently 55 college assistance migrant programs nationwide. 13 programs from across California and Arizona attended the leadership conference at Fresno State, totaling more than 120 students in attendance.
Fresno State has the longest standing CAMP in the CSU system, having been founded in 1981.
Learn more about Fresno State’s CAMP and about the National HEP CAMP Association.
by MARISA MATA
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