{"id":86577,"date":"2026-01-15T18:34:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/?post_type=stories&p=86577"},"modified":"2026-02-13T23:48:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T23:48:56","slug":"a-future-beyond-the-fields","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/news\/a-future-beyond-the-fields\/","title":{"rendered":"A Future Beyond the Fields"},"content":{"rendered":"
For more than two decades, <\/span>Eastern\u2019s CAMP program<\/span> gave the children of migrant parents a better shot at obtaining a college education. When budget cuts threatened to close its doors, donors stepped up.<\/span><\/h6>\n

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By Linn Parish<\/p>\n

D<\/b><\/span>uring long, hot summers<\/b><\/span> <\/b>back in the late 2000s, Tanya N\u00fa\u00f1ez would spend 10 to 12 hours a day harvesting crops in the fields of central Washington.<\/p>\n

A high schooler at the time, those sweaty days harvesting corn, onion and cabbage suggested to Tanya that maybe a career different from her parents would be best. \u201cI remember telling myself, \u2018I can\u2019t do this for the rest of my life,\u2019\u201d N\u00fa\u00f1ez \u201912\u00a0 <\/span>says. \u201cIt was a rude awakening: You need to go to college, and you need to study.\u201d That epiphany led her to Eastern Washington University and its CAMP program in 2008.<\/p>\n

CAMP stands for College Assistance Migrant Program. The program got its start back in 1972, developed by the federal Office of Economic Opportunity to support migrant students in college. It was transferred to the Department of Education in 1980.<\/p>\n

Eastern\u2019s participation began 23 years ago, and, in the years since, the program has provided crucial support services for first-generation Eagles from migrant families. The goal? Helping students succeed in their studies and, ultimately, earn a degree.<\/p>\n

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T<\/b><\/span>anya met all of the criteria for CAMP.<\/b><\/span> <\/b>Her father, who was born in Mexico, and her American mother have spent most of their working lives in farm fields, much of that time moving from harvest to harvest before settling in Othello, Washington.<\/p>\n

While Tanya is in the first generation of the N\u00fa\u00f1ez family to attend college, she\u2019s not the first of her siblings to attend EWU, nor is she the first to benefit from CAMP. She was preceded at Eastern by her sister, Jennifer, and her brother, Ricky. For the N\u00fa\u00f1ezes, CAMP is thus a family affair, though they\u2019ve all taken different paths to the program.<\/p>\n

Jennifer\u00a0 <\/span>is the oldest of the N\u00fa\u00f1ez children. Nine years her sister\u2019s senior, she came to EWU before CAMP was established. She says she was drawn to the university because it was located in Cheney, a town somewhat similar in size to Othello and an ideal distance from family.<\/p>\n

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\"Jennifer
Jennifer (left) and Tanya N\u00fa\u00f1ez at the Monroe Hall office of EWU\u2019s CAMP program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Though her matriculation predated CAMP, she says she found a great deal of support in Eastern\u2019s Chicano\/a\/x Studies program, especially with the late professor Carlos Maldonado serving as a mentor.<\/p>\n

By the time Jennifer <\/span>\u201905, \u201918 graduated, Eastern\u2019s CAMP program was up and running, a development that benefitted Jennifer and Tanya\u2019s brother Ricky. He was already a CAMP veteran, having participated in Columbia Basin College\u2019s program before he transferred to EWU. (He now works as a real estate agent\u00a0 <\/span>in Othello.) <\/span><\/p>\n

Having two older Eagles in the family meant Tanya received lots of sound advice about Eastern. Both siblings urged her to take advantage of what CAMP had to offer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember my sister said, \u2018I want you to focus on college and not have the struggles that I had as the first-generation,\u201d Tanya recalls. \u201cAnd I never understood that, right? But as I\u2019m older now, I\u2019m able to reflect and be appreciative of the opportunities that I was able to have with Eastern, especially as part of CAMP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanya pursued a couple of different degree programs before committing to social work. Despite this circuitous path to her major, she graduated in four years, went on to earn a master\u2019s degree at Walla Walla University, and is now working in her chosen field as a clinical manager at Renew Behavioral Health & Wellness in Moses Lake.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Eastern. I love the opportunities and the network it provided for me,\u201d she says. \u201cIt felt like a home away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The N\u00fa\u00f1ez siblings\u2019 time in CAMP didn\u2019t end when Tanya graduated from the program. Jennifer had served as an adviser and recruiter for the Chicano\/a\/x Studies program from 2005 to 2009, eventually serving as its coordinator. During her tenure with the program, she worked closely with CAMP, often referring students who came from families of migrant workers to the program.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI love Eastern. I love the opportunities and the network it provided for me,\u201d she says. \u201cIt felt like a home away from home.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Federal funding for EWU\u2019s CAMP program has ebbed and flowed through the years, and in the early 2010s, the program for a time lost its revenue source. When that funding was restored in 2014, Jennifer became the director. She held that position until 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI very much related to the challenges students faced when transitioning from their high school communities to higher ed,\u201d says Jennifer, who currently serves as director for dual\/concurrent enrollment and summer sessions with EWU\u2019s Running Start and College in the High School programs.<\/p>\n

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L<\/b>ike Jennifer N\u00fa\u00f1ez, Roc\u00edo Rangel, <\/b><\/span>EWU\u2019s current CAMP director, grew up in a migrant family. A Texas native, Rangel was a benefactor of one of the longest running CAMP programs in the United States, which started at St. Edwards University, a small private school in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

Initially, Rangel says, she was reluctant to go into CAMP, because she didn\u2019t want to be stereotyped with a \u201cmigrant\u201d label. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a good thing in high school,\u201d Rangel says. \u201cWhen certain teachers saw my peers going into a migrant meeting, they would treat them differently. And then I got to college and realized none of that mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Roc\u00edo Rangel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through the years, she says, the word \u201cmigrant\u201d has been politicized and frequently is lumped in with \u201cimmigrant.\u201d But a migrant worker simply is someone who travels from one place to another for seasonal work, she says. While it frequently describes agricultural workers, the term technically applies to workers in a host of other industries.<\/p>\n

Migrant workers Rangel adds, are predominantly, but not exclusively, of Latino descent \u2014one in five are from other backgrounds. By extension, participants in CAMP are predominately of Latino descent, but the program isn\u2019t specifically for Latinos.<\/p>\n

Rangel points out students from migrant families face challenges when moving from one state to another during an academic year. School districts in different states frequently have different curricula, which can lead to a loss of credits. Often, those students must take make-up classes during the summer months.<\/p>\n

For those who reach college there can be significant barriers, among them financial instability, cultural and language hurdles, and a lack of familial or institutional support. CAMP at EWU provides one-on-one counseling, financial assistance, and a series of social events\u00a0 <\/span>meant to help mitigate these potential obstacles to success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a community away from your community to make sure that you feel like you have a sense of place,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Jennifer N\u00fa\u00f1ez says the program also can help those students deal with issues that go deeper than just homesickness. \u201cA lot of migrant students are providers for their own households and help them to make ends meet,\u201d N\u00fa\u00f1ez says. \u201cAnd so I think there’s a lot of guilt behind leaving that community and not being able to provide that day-to-day support.\u201d<\/p>\n

At EWU, up to 40 incoming freshmen enter the program each fall. Each receives a modest, $500 quarterly stipend, in addition to specialized advising, registration assistance, peer mentoring, student leadership skills training and other benefits. The hope is that more than 80 percent of CAMP participants have a successful first year, defined as earning 36 credits with at least a 2.0 grade-point average. Another goal is that some 90 percent of the students move on to their sophomore year.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s a high percentage,\u201d Rangel says, \u201cand we reach it every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite this track record of success, and what would appear to be an indisputably positive return on taxpayer investment, securing federal funding for CAMP has at times been elusive. Back in the 1990s, for example, the Clinton Administration at one point sought to zero out CAMP\u2019s budget. An uproar ensued, and Congress acted to ensure the program remained solvent.<\/p>\n

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A <\/b>more recent challenge<\/b><\/span> <\/b> has come from the current administration, which has called for an end to the program. The White House has also effectively frozen funding already appropriated by Congress, a move that has plunged the nation\u2019s CAMP programs into crisis.<\/p>\n

CAMP receives federal funding commitments in five-year cycles. EWU\u2019s funding ended this year, and the U.S. Department of Education announced it wouldn\u2019t be holding a competition for renewals. Other universities throughout the U.S., having no funding alternative, were forced to shutter their programs. Here in the Inland Northwest, the\u00a0 <\/span>University of Idaho announced it would close its CAMP program.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Eastern donors have stepped up to help. Most crucially, the university announced earlier this year that it had secured a five-year, $2.1 million commitment from the Krumble Foundation \u2014 funds which will allow EWU to both sustain and expand CAMP. One goal is to provide more services to CAMP participants during their sophomore years, an initiative meant to ensure that even more participants graduate.<\/p>\n

CAMP already has a rolling six-year graduation rate of about 60 percent, which is typically 15 to 20 percentage points higher than the university as a whole. CAMP and foundation leaders share the goal of further improving that rate.<\/p>\n

The Krumble Foundation, founded by Burke and Muriel Blevins after the couple sold Spokane Valley-based manufacturer VPI Quality Windows Inc., is dedicated to addressing the need for more skilled workers in the Inland Northwest by providing post-secondary education opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The foundation has in the past made seven-figure contributions to EWU scholarship programs. The move to dedicate resources to CAMP represents an expansion of its philanthropy.<\/p>\n

Last September, Burke Blevins explained the rationale to a Spokesman-Review<\/i> reporter. \u201cFor our region to be economically viable, we need an institution that provides a high-quality education at as reasonable costs as possible \u2026\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why Eastern is really essential to the Spokane region. And this is a program that\u2019s aimed at the kind of people that really drive our economy; those who are going to college, the first generation in their family, and making socioeconomic movements for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear when or if the federal funding will return. Regardless, EWU\u2019s program is secure for the near future. That\u2019s good news for Rangel, her staff and their students. What\u2019s more, she says, \u201call of the goals from the Krumble Foundation are aligned with what we already want to do\u201d.<\/p>\n

While Jennifer N\u00fa\u00f1ez hasn\u2019t been involved directly with CAMP for a number of years, she\u2019s also relieved that it is surviving and thriving.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to see the students, so timid their first year, go on to graduate and then, in most cases, move on from that goal to something bigger\u2026 it\u2019s just so nice,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s definitely because of the help from CAMP \u2014 the resources, the staff and the mission \u2014 that has given them the start they need to accomplish their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

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More to the Story: Rangel Honored for Distinguished Service<\/strong><\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n

Roc\u00edo Rangel, CAMP\u2019s director, recently received Eastern\u2019s 2025 Distinguished Service Award \u2014 recognition of her leadership, innovation and commitment to student success.<\/p>\n

Rangel has led the CAMP program for the past four years. During her tenure, she has both improved financial efficiencies while enhancing services for the first-generation and migrant students who depend on the program, the award citation said.<\/p>\n

Among her other notable successes, Rangel introduced an innovative staffing model that replaced a recruiter position with a second advisor, allowing for more direct student engagement and improved program outcomes. The change streamlined operations and strengthened the program\u2019s capacity to serve students more effectively.<\/p>\n

Her emphasis on communication, meanwhile, has led to dramatic reductions in students-facing financial holds during registration. Rangel made this happen by creating bilingual outreach materials and a communications plan that ensures students clearly understand financial aid processes and deadlines.<\/p>\n

Rangel and her staff have also emphasized supporting and building relationships with Spanish-speaking parents, helping them manage delays and tech issues to maintain a 100% financial aid submission rate among the program\u2019s first-year students \u2014 something the team has accomplished every year since <\/span>2020.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For more than two decades, Eastern\u2019s CAMP program gave the children of migrant parents a better shot at obtaining a college education. When budget cuts threatened to close its doors, donors stepped up.     By Linn Parish During long, hot summers back in the late 2000s, Tanya N\u00fa\u00f1ez would spend 10 to 12 hours…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":86580,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-86577","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-featured","stories_tags-fall-winter-2025-26","stories_tags-magazine-featured"],"acf":{"subheading":"","featured_image_format":"cover","display_byline":false,"display_featured_image":false,"display_date_published":false,"featured_video":"","Links":false,"Resources":false,"page_override_title":"","page_hide_sidebar":false,"page_enable_page_nav":false,"page_persona_bar_default_tab":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/86577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/86577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86727,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/86577\/revisions\/86727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}