TOMBALL, Texas – Lone Star College-Tomball's Center for Leadership, Academic and Student Success (CLASS) Program Manager Magdalena Mendoza, Advisor Brenda Alvarado Fernandez, and Outreach Coordinator Daniela Cortez-Guerra, all share a unique bond and connection with one another: they are the first in their families to attend and graduate from college. But what makes their connection to one another extra special is that the work they’re doing together at LSC-Tomball is having a ripple effect in the local community and high schools.
“We’ve been able to reach people and prepare families through our Parents Academy,” Mendoza said.
The Parent and Family Academy at LSC-Tomball is a college preparation program for parents and family members of future and incoming LSC-Tomball Timberwolves.
“The earlier a student and their family begin to prepare and understand the college process, the better transition a student will have,” Mendoza stressed, before adding that its Parents Academy started in the fall of 2017 offering workshops at Waller Independent School District and Harris County Public Library. The program is now expanding to Tomball High School.
“The great thing about this program is that it has a ripple effect regarding the impact you have on first time in college students and their families,” said Fernandez. “The moment you impact the first person in a family’s generation attending college, it has influences where others in that same family attends college. I have first-hand experience with this, so I know that the programming components are very beneficial and helpful for incoming students and their families.”
The Parent and Family Academy programming components include:
- Students Matter: How to Support your First Generation College Student
- Inspire Excellence: Combining Interests with Appropriate Academic Major
- Act Intentionally: Developing a Strategic Plan for High School and Beyond
- Better Together: Parents and LSC-Tomball Partners in Student Success
- No Fear: Demystifying How to Pay for College
- Trust: Letting Students Grow While Providing Support
The next workshop is slated for 1-2 pm, Tuesday, June 19 at the Harris County Public Library-Tomball. CLASS representatives will present the Parent and Family Academy programming component, No Fear: Demystifying How to Pay for College.
Mendoza noted that CLASS is committed to engaging and educating our local community on how to support future and current college students. All programming is available in English and Spanish.
Lone Star College-Tomball is located at 35000 Tomball Parkway, at the intersection of SH 249 and Zion Road. For more information about the college, call 281.351.3300 or visit LoneStar.edu/Tomball.
Lone Star College offers high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education to 95,000 students each semester. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area with an annual economic impact of $3.1 billion. LSC consists of six colleges, eight centers, two university centers, Lone Star Corporate College and LSC-Online. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.
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