Kurt Micklo lost interest in academics after he failed to make the basketball team as a sophomore at Chapin High School. Soon after, he fathered a son and began to work full time, which put him further behind in his studies.

A counselor finally advised him during his junior year that he should withdraw and try to earn a GED. He dropped out and – through hard work – found professional success as a general manager of a subcontracting logistics company. However, the lack of a high school diploma haunted him. He wants one to give his family – especially his mother – another reason to be proud of him.

A busy work and family schedule have kept him from returning to school, but the flexibility of a new state program aimed at people aged 18 and older without a high school diploma will allow him to earn a diploma and a college career and technical education, or CTE, credential for programs such as health care, welding or computer science at the same time.

The concept of Opportunity High School Diploma was part of House Bill 8, which the state Legislature passed in 2023. The state funneled about $2 million into this program to help the approximately including about 30,000 adult El Pasoans, without a diploma to earn the academic credits most of them will need to acquire higher-paying jobs. The program is scheduled to launch in spring 2026.

“If I could juggle it, I’d be pretty interested” in the program, said 34-year-old Micklo, a father of three ages 15, 10 and 5. He is the general manager of three warehouses, two in El Paso and one in Laredo, Texas, as well as four sites near the international ports of entry with Mexico in El Paso, Tornillo and Santa Teresa, New Mexico, were commodities are offloaded.. “It would make my stepfather (a retired educator) and my mother happy if I earned my high school diploma.”

El Paso Community College is one of five community college districts in the state selected for the design and implementation phases of this program. The other institutions in the design phase are Alamo Colleges District, Austin Community College, Dallas College and San Jacinto College near Houston.

They work under the direction of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The board will review the instructional outcomes and performance expectations that the college collaborators created during an October meeting. Once finalized, the college faculty will begin to work with school districts to design the curriculum.

The program is flexible for students who probably work full time and have family obligations. Courses would have suggested timelines, but students would turn in assignments as their schedule allowed through the end of the term.

Micklo, a Northeast resident, said the promised flexibility is the only reason he might consider the program. As for his credential, he said he would need to review EPCC’s career and technical education options. The college offers more than 100 career programs such as HVAC, or heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and electrical, automotive or diesel technologies.

Students will be co-enrolled in competency-based high school curriculum such as math, civics, sciences and communication, and a career and technical workforce program. Competency based courses are focused more on a students’ mastery of a skill or subject than the amount of time spent in a classroom.

Isela Castañón Williams, professor and coordinator of EPCC’s teacher preparation programs, is in charge of the college’s 13-member team. She called the project a “monumental task” because of its scope and uniqueness. She said her team, and its counterparts, played a critical role in the design phase.

“Faculty at EPCC are very innovative,” she said. “I think that my colleagues have approached this process with a great deal of enthusiasm. We’re always looking to provide better services and educational experiences to the community we serve.”

EPCC faculty advocated for the program to be designed to accommodate English Second Language and English Language Learner populations, a THECB spokesman said in a July 1 statement. He said last year that the board selected EPCC for the project’s design phase because of its border insights, and because its CTE degrees and credentials are in line with the program.

While the state wants to attract students aged 18 and older, EPCC officials will aim for people 25 and older so as to not compete with K-12 school districts that have their own dropout recovery programs. EPCC, which will offer the program at its five campuses, expects some of the program’s younger students to come from rural areas outside El Paso.

Steven E. Smith, vice president of Instruction and Workforce Education at EPCC, said the state will provide funds to the colleges to cover tuition for initial cohorts. He expects the first groups will range from 30 to 50 students and scale up from there.

“We think this is a big market in El Paso, and I think once the word starts to get out, that will grow tremendously,” Smith said.

The administrator said that he would work on ways to market the program later this month with the college’s External Relations, Communication & Development Division. He said the college would work with school district partners to build lists of potential OHSD students.

“As you might imagine, that is a pretty difficult population to identify and reach out to because they are not in the system anymore,” Smith said.

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There are many reasons that young adults in El Paso County do not vote, but a program piloted by El Paso Community College will try to improve the situation through peer communication to include having students serve as paid nonpartisan poll workers at sites.

The college launched its Tejano Pollworker Fellows program this spring semester. Its goal is to promote civic engagement and voter education, which includes basic information such as , select a , read a sample ballot, use a voting machine and the general electoral process.

“I know it sounds very simple, but people are afraid of looking silly and embarrassing themselves because they don’t know what to do as a voter,” said Crystal Robert, associate professor of speech communication at EPCC and the fellows program director.

A few young adults at EPCC shared reasons why their age group does not vote. They include divisive politics, lack of inspiring politicians, and being too busy with work, school and family to study issues and candidates. Some grew up in families that preached voting was a waste of time, while others were discouraged after their cause or candidate lost.

Robert said her plan is to register over the next two years at least 50 students per semester who will train as poll workers and, working with the County Elections Department, place them at polling locations. As part of their duties, they’ll learn how to set up a polling site to include the , hand out ballots and offer any necessary assistance.

Robert said that it is important for young people to see others their age at the polls to give them a sense of belonging.

Several fellows already served as poll workers during the March 5 primary and more will be trained before the May 28 runoff.

El Paso natives Mayeli Robles and Andrea Dominguez are among the initial EPCC poll worker fellows. They agreed that the experience was interesting, fun and lucrative. Election poll workers earn $14.50 per hour, and that wage will go up to $15 an hour in November. Participants also are eligible for a $200 stipend through the program.

During a recent conversation at EPCC’s Valle Verde campus, the two women spoke about their Election Day experiences, as well as how the program enhanced their political awareness and desire to share that knowledge with other young adults.

Robles, 19, is a biology major who graduated from El Dorado High School in 2022. She worked at the Family Youth Services Center polling site, 6314 Delta Drive, and spent much of her shift encouraging center visitors to vote. There were not that many young voters among the 103 people who cast a ballot there.

“I thought I was going to be really drained and overworked, but just seeing people exercise their right to vote, and being happy that a young person’s (helping) at the voting site made me happy,” said Robles, who works in the campus’ Writing Center. “It made me feel like I was doing something good for the community.”

Dominguez, 21, is a multidisciplinary studies major who joined the program to be more involved in the community. She has made several voter awareness presentations to EPCC classes where she encourages students to make the time to study issues and candidates.

“Being able to use my voice in a way that actually matters is really important to me,” said Dominguez, a 2021 Montwood High School graduate.

For the primary, she helped at the EPCC Rio Grande Campus voting site in The Little Temple, 906 El Paso St. Dominguez said she was thrilled to see the occasional young voter, but was just as happy to see any voter because there were times when the place was empty. The Elections Department recorded 156 votes cast at that location.

Dominguez said that the program’s value went beyond learning election law and how to be a poll worker. She said it taught her to be less judgmental of others’ political opinions. Beyond her classwork, and her campus job with Student Technology Services, she supports the League of Women Voters of El Paso. She called voting a way to communicate about important issues.

A civic responsibility

As someone familiar with the decline in young voters, Richard Pineda, chair and associate professor of communication at the University of Texas at El Paso, said that any opportunity to engage college-aged voters is important.

“These efforts remind students what’s at stake and are also a gentle nudge about civic responsibility,” said Pineda, a longtime political commentator.

“Often students are unaware of timelines for voter registration and the rules governing participation in an election. This is a great way to get that information out.”

Ricardo Sanchez, 20, said he grew up in a family that did not value elections.

Although registered to vote, he was unfamiliar with the process and was too intimidated by the unknown to participate.

“I was discouraged before because I believed that (my vote) didn’t mean anything,” said Sanchez, a 2022 Clint High School graduate.

Sanchez, an associate of arts in teaching major at EPCC, said his girlfriend explained the importance of elections, and the ABC’s of voting to him earlier this year.

As a result, he voted for the first time in March. He said it felt good to be involved politically.

Help America Vote

El Paso County has 503,059 registered voters. Of that number, approximately 120,000 are under age 30. According to the county’s Elections Department, only 3,325 of those potential voters cast a ballot on March 5. That’s almost 3%.

Those numbers are among the reasons why the awarded the college a two-year, $49,000 grant to establish the program. EPCC is one of 14 national recipients of the Help America Vote College Program Poll Worker Grants. Awards in this category went to institutions of higher education as well as state and county governments.

EAC leaders said the Help America Vote program, made possible through a Congressional allocation of $1 million, comes at a key time for election offices across the country. It estimates that about 1 million poll workers are needed for a presidential election.

The commission awarded the grants in early February. EPCC started its program at the end of that month.

The reported that approximately 14% of poll workers in the 2022 general election were between the ages of 18 and 40. That is why the organization believes it is important to recruit, train and retain younger poll workers.

Brenda Negrete, who oversees the Elections Department’s poll worker recruitment and placement, said the fellows program will help ensure that her office can provide the necessary services to voters at the polls.

Negrete said she has a list of 500 trained poll workers, and expects to need more than 400 of them for the Nov. 5 general election. She said she would like to have a few more trained workers because additional personnel often are needed at polling sites or the department headquarters for elections.

The training, done at sites throughout the county, takes about four to six hours. Topics include election code, familiarity with election documents and voting systems, as well as how to set up a polling location. Participants also go through various mock scenarios. Negrete said some virtual training is allowed under certain circumstances.

“They need to know the do’s and don’ts,” said Melissa Martin, Elections Department information and resources coordinator, and the lead trainer.

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Several national organizations tied to higher education have asked colleges and universities to delay their usual May enrollment deadlines to accommodate students who will not begin to receive their financial aid packages until March as a result of FAFSA delays.

The nine organizations, which include the National College Attainment Network and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, or NASFAA, sent their  Wednesday to give students and their families more time to consider financial aid offers and decide where – or if – to attend college.

The news that application information, the data institutions use to determine the amount of financial aid a student will receive, would not be available for another four weeks – at least – concerned these groups. During a normal cycle, colleges and universities would begin to receive that information in October. This year, the information initially was expected in January.

In their joint statement, the groups encouraged schools to give some latitude to students and families as they consider their offers of admission and financial aid due to the continued delays with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, applicant data.

“During the pandemic, many institutions extended their enrollment, scholarship, and financial aid deadlines beyond the traditional May 1 date, and we urge institutions to make similar accommodations this year,” the statement read. “We all want students and families to have the time they need to consider their financial options before making enrollment decisions.”

El Paso Community College, like all higher education institutions around the country, awaits guidance and information from the Department of Education, said Keri Moe, EPCC’s associate vice president of External Relations Communications & Development.

“While these delays are beyond the institution’s control, EPCC is committed to working with students and will revise deadlines, if possible and as allowed, to ensure as many students who are eligible for financial aid can receive it,” Moe said.  

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso has a series of “priority dates” because its programs in nursing, medicine, dental science and biomedical science start throughout the year.

“Students who submit their FAFSA to us on or before these priority dates are considered for all grants, scholarships and available aid until funds are exhausted,” a center spokesman said. “The university’s Office of Financial Aid will adjust its priority awarding dates based on dates provided by the Department of Education.”

A University of Texas at El Paso spokesman said UTEP does not have a decision deadline.

Justin Draeger, president of the NASFAA, said the current timeline will severely delay award letters and limit the choices of college-going students.

“Our nation’s colleges are once again left scrambling as they determine how best to work within these new timelines to issue aid offers as soon as possible — so the students who can least afford higher education aren’t the ones who ultimately pay the price for these missteps,” Draeger said in a prepared statement.

Andres Orozco, an accounting, business and economics major at EPCC, said he had submitted his FAFSA for the 2024-25 academic year and hoped to receive the same $1,900 the college awarded him last year.

Orozco, a 2023 Irvin High School graduate, sighed when he learned about the latest delay, but was adamant that nothing would keep him from his academic journey. He said that he would divert more of the money he earns working at the Northeast Albertsons supermarket to his college fund if necessary.  

“This is not the best news,” Orozco said. “This will affect a lot of students who need that money to go to school. I will go to school no matter what. I want to finish. I will find a way.”

Angel Waters, a senior at Transmountain Early College High School, said he plans to complete his FAFSA soon. He said he wants to study computer science at UTEP or New Mexico State University, and be part of NMSU’s Air Force ROTC program.

Waters, a first-generation college student, said that while he is not concerned about the delays now, he will be if it takes longer than early March to receive his financial aid letters.

Kayla Carter, a 17-year-old senior who is homeschooled, said that she has yet to fill out her FAFSA, but hopes that she will get enough financial aid to enroll in Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma City, Okla., to study ministry. If that does not work out, she wants to enroll at EPCC or UTEP as a nursing major.

“Being away from home will be an issue if my (financial aid) is delayed,” said Carter, who lives on the East Side.

The expected delays in the financial aid packages is the latest setback for the new FAFSA, dubbed the “Better” FAFSA because it was designed to be simpler and faster for students and their families to fill out. It also will give students more opportunities for more financial aid. The application overhaul was ordered by Congress as part of the .

The form usually is available Oct. 1 and institutions receive the application information within days. This cycle, the Department of Education did not launch the FAFSA until Dec. 30 on a limited basis. It became available around the clock in early January. Initially, the government told colleges and universities to expect the applicant information by late January.

The submitted forms have their own , but eventually an ISIR (Institutional Student Information Record) is routed to the higher education institutions or career schools requested by the students. In the past, this process took a few days, but some experts estimate that this cycle could take a few weeks or longer. Once a school receives the applicant information, it usually takes that institution several weeks to evaluate, process, package and send award letters to students. The speed of that process depends on the institution’s resources.

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Michelle Soto knows how difficult it can be to find affordable child care.

The married mother of three young children, ages 7, 6 and almost 2, juggles her family responsibilities with math and writing classes at El Paso Community College to strengthen the English skills she will need to pursue her Associate of Applied Science degree in court reporting.

The 29-year-old Central resident attends classes at the Valle Verde campus while her older children attend Gen. Douglas MacArthur PK-8 School, and her younger son, Alan, stays at the campus’ YWCA Early Learning Academy. Soto would prefer not to attend school on weekdays or weekends to be with her family, but she said she would do it if necessary to complete her degree and start her career.

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To address these kinds of situations, EPCC created Family College for parents, especially single parents, who want to continue their education but cannot because of a lack of child care options. The program, which launches this spring, allows EPCC students registered for courses on weeknights and Saturday mornings at the Valle Verde campus to enroll their children in a handful of free and fun age- or grade-appropriate classes taught by the institution’s Childrens’ College instructors.

Soto, who already signed up for spring classes that start Jan. 16, thought it was a good idea and said she would consider Family College as an option for the fall semester.

“It would be comforting to know that the college has something for the children,” she said before picking up Alan from the child care center. “It will help students to achieve their goals.”

For the spring semester, EPCC will offer six 90-minute courses for eight weeks for children ages 6 to 14. The classes will start at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays (reading and Spanish) and Thursdays (computer use and gymnastics), and 8:30 and 10 a.m. Saturdays (math and ways to modify their own Minecraft video game). Most courses will be in Building B.

Such efforts will help families, according to research from a national policy and advocacy group that supports efforts to help students. It shared recent data that student parents make up about 20% of students in post-secondary education, and 43% of them are single mothers. The group also reported that 44% of single mothers attend public two-year institutions.

In a Dec. 7 column in EPCC President William Serrata wrote about empowering student parents, which make up about 45% of the college’s enrollment without counting dual credit high school students. He mentioned several of the college’s efforts to accommodate student parents such as resource centers, flexible schedules and expanded child care partnerships.

Serrata cited the October 2023 announcement by of its partnership with EPCC and three other community colleges from across the country to accelerate student-parent success. EPCC earned a two-year, $75,000 grant from the institute’s Postsecondary Leadership Circle Activation Fund to assist with its programs such as Family College. The collaboration also will include technical support.

“When student parents feel welcome and supported on campus, they are more likely to continue their studies and achieve their educational and professional goals,” Serrata said. “They become role models for their children, illustrating the value of education and creating a college-going culture, which will have a generational impact for years to come.”

EPCC has started to market Family College via fliers, social media, and in-person stops at community events to include campus visits in the Ysleta and Socorro independent school districts, said Leticia Guerra, EPCC director of Continuing Education – Business, Technology and Personal Enrichment, as well as a member of the Family College leadership team.

Guerra said that the decision to create this program was based on results of a spring 2021 student survey conducted by the Office of Institutional Research. It revealed that a large percentage of students were parents, and many were single parents.

“We want to make this a viable option for (student parents) so they can come to school,” Guerra said. “They can bring their child and know that they are in a safe environment getting a quality education and experience. It will give (student parents) peace of mind and, at the same time, allow them to continue their own education.”

Sandra Ornelas, an EPCC counselor for more than 14 years, said she has known many students who have needed to take a class here or there to finish their degree plan, but could not enroll because of work or family responsibilities.

“They might have benefitted from this program,” said Ornelas, another Family College organizer. “This option will allow them to come back and complete their degrees.”

EPCC officials have committed to this program through the fall 2024 semester. Program leaders will continue to monitor what works and tweak as needed. Among the metrics that officials will consider are student enrollment and outcomes. Depending on the level of success, the program could grow to other EPCC campuses.

“We’ll have to see if it’s truly going to be of value to the community,” Guerra said. “If it is beneficial, we can continue to institutionalize the program, but we have to take these steps first.”

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Estefania Garcia is a confident young woman who has worked through her disabilities to achieve what she wants. One of her dreams was to attend college and the naysayers at El Dorado High School, she said, only made her more determined to make her dream a reality.

Today Garcia, who has a visual impairment and a learning disability, works as a receptionist for the Children’s Disabilities Information Coalition on El Paso’s Eastside where she also makes presentations for high school audiences.

She credits Project HIGHER, a collaborative program between El Paso Community College and Texas Workforce Solutions, for helping her earn a certificate in business management/administrative office assistant in 2020. That and her previous job experience helped her earn her current job.

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Project HIGHER, a competitive program launched in 2015, gives people with developmental and intellectual disabilities an opportunity for a post-secondary education and a better chance at employment. Each of the 25 students in the program gets a personal education coach who helps the participant in and out of the classroom to build the necessary social and academic skills to succeed in the workforce or to continue their academic journeys.

“Now I get to help people with disabilities and teach them about self-advocacy skills,” Garcia said. “I tell them to never give up. They’ve got to keep trying to do their best to achieve their goals.”

According to a 2022 report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, 19.1% of people with disabilities found jobs in 2021, which was better than the 17.9% the prior year. These individuals often work in the service, production, transportation and material moving industries, as well as sales and office jobs.

Project HIGHER, part of EPCC’s Center for Students with Disabilities, is open to El Paso County residents ages 18 to 25. It offers certificates in welding, graphic design, child development, business management, hospitality operations, as well as machining, automotive and electrical technologies. Participants attend classes alongside mainstream students so there are no modifications to the courses.

People who want to be part of Project HIGHER must register with TWS-Vocational Rehabilitation Services, apply and participate in an interview for any openings among the 25 student slots. TWS is part of the Texas Workforce Commission. TWS representatives were not available for comment.

The program, which expects about 12 openings this fall, receives more than 75 applications annually. TWS will pay tuition and fees of those selected beyond what is not covered by financial aid based on the family’s income, and assist the graduates to find jobs in their chosen field.

Alejandra Mendoza, Project HIGHER program manager since 2019, said 36 students have earned level-one certificates since the program started, and she expects another eight to graduate this spring. A level-one certificate means that there are no college core courses in English or mathematics.

Mendoza said the key to the program is the coaches, who have post-secondary degrees or the equivalent. They provide students with structure, and help them learn how to study and plan their schedules. They also ensure that the students participate in class and complete assignments. Additionally, the coaches encourage the students to participate in college events so they can socialize with people outside their program and academic cohorts.

The program manager said coaches, some who assist more than one student, work about 20 hours per week per student. The students generally take two courses per semester. The goal is to trim the number of hours as the student becomes more independent.

Among the coaches is Erica Collier, a veteran educator who is in her second semester with PH. She said that each student has specific needs. She has helped her students to be better communicators, less anxious, and more attentive. For example, to improve communication, Collier said that she would role play conversations with her students to prepare them to speak with a professor, or they would practice breathing techniques to relieve stress.

“We encourage them to go beyond their comfort zones to become well rounded students and people,” Collier said.

The program’s concept was promoted by Rick Razo, a retired Region 19 director of special education and a longtime advocate for people with disabilities. He served as the program’s first project manager for three years and even worked as an education coach before he separated from Project HIGHER, which is based on a successful program started in the Rio Grande Valley.

Project HIGHER goes beyond what most colleges offer students with disabilities such as tutors, readers, note takers, and sign language interpreters, or a change of venue to make in-person classes more accessible. The coaches build the skills that the students did not master in high school to include reading comprehension and how to study to take a test.

Razo is proud of the program’s more than 90% of students completing their certificates, but it is unknown how many program graduates find work. He said that even mainstream students do not get jobs automatically after they earn their degrees. The former program manager said he would like the PH program to add a vocational job training component during the summers because it would give the students field familiarity and help employers understand the capabilities of people with disabilities.

“The certificates just give (program graduates) better chances to get a job,” Razo said. “The weak link is employment. They need work experience to become stronger candidates.”

He said some of the benefits of hiring people with disabilities is that they are loyal, punctual and enthusiastic. They have good attitudes and make a positive impact on customers and other employees.

Dennis Martinez, owner of Zenitram, an auto repair shop in Northeast El Paso, hired program graduate Pablo Maul several months ago and called him a work in progress. He said that Maul, who earned a certificate in automotive technology, helps around the shop and eventually will be transitioned into more mechanical duties.

“We’re taking baby steps,” Martinez said. “(Maul) requires attention, but we knew what we were getting into. He’s doing OK.”

About 8% of the program graduates return to pursue their associate degree. One of them is Jurgen Linder, who earned his certificate in graphic design in 2022. Linder, who is on the autism spectrum, is pursuing his associate of applied science degree in advertising graphics & design. He hopes to complete his degree in two years.

Linder, 21, said he needed his Project HIGHER coach, especially with assignment reminders, note taking and test preparation, but now he is more confident in his abilities. He said his certificate has given him a sense of freedom and confidence.

“I improved my skills,” said Linder, who previously worked as a stocker at Walgreens. “I’m testing myself to get better. So far, so good.”

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