ASU's new Future Sun Devil Families graduates first classes

Donna Snyder is one parent among hundreds who are graduating this week from an innovative new program that ASU recently piloted at four schools in the West Valley. The ASU Future Sun Devil Families initiative will help more Arizona students and families prepare for college. The majority of the families graduating are Latino.

On Monday, May 20,  38 parents and 35 students graduated at Westview High School in Avondale and tonight more than 70 parents and students will graduate from Copper Canyon High School in Glendale. Parents also will graduate from La Joya High School’s Future Sun Devil Families program on Thursday in Avondale, and more parents on Friday at Sierra Linda High School in Phoenix. A total of 260 family members will graduate from this new program this week.

Snyder learned how to create a portfolio for her son, apply for admission, research scholarship opportunities and more in the workshops. “I had no idea how to get my son into college, but Future Sun Devil Families changed all that and I learned how to navigate the process in a matter of weeks and now he is going to ASU on a Presidential Scholarship,” said Snyder, parent of Andrew Boras, senior at Westview High School. Both mother and son participated in the Future Sun Devil Families’ pilot college-preparation classes at Westview High School.

 The college preparation program is accepting applications and will launch this fall at several local school districts. The program will begin this fall with 9^th grade students and their parents, adding additional grades each year. Students must have a 2.5 GPA or above in core classes. Students and at least one parent are expected to attend the monthly workshops at local high schools.

Future Sun Devil Families builds on the program models of the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program and the American Dream Academy, two of ASU’s exemplary family-centered programs, to prepare more Arizona students for success at ASU. Future Sun Devil Families workshops take place seven times during the academic year, are available at no cost to families and can be taught bilingually. Workshops are designed to guide students and parents through the college application process in an interactive co-learning environment.  For more information and to apply visit:  https://eoss.asu.edu/FSDF. 

“Future Sun Devil Families illustrates ASU and President Crow’s vision to measure the success of our university not by who we exclude, but by who we include and how they succeed,” said Beatriz Rendon, Associate VP, Educational Outreach and Student Services, Arizona State University.

“Future Sun Devil Families, in partnership with our high school colleagues, creates a pathway to access the university early and often, ensures that students are university eligible and that families have the tools and resources to support them in that endeavor.  Part of ASU’s mission is to assume responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality, and health and well-being of the community. Future Sun Devil Families is a concrete example of how we fulfill the commitment to working in the community as partners in preparing more Arizona youth for the university.”

Additional information can be found at https://eoss.asu.edu/fsdf