Kenai Peninsula College announced in a Nov. 20 press release that it is receiving a $2.3 million grant to support migrant education.

The College Assistance Migrant Program, or CAMP, is a five-year grant provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The program aims to enroll 25 students in each year of the program to financially support their first year of college. The total number of the students who will be able participate over the five years of the program will be 125.

Jeff Smith, new program director on Kenai River Campus, said CAMP was begun by the Department of Labor in 1972 to support the education of migrant and seasonal farm workers.

The inaugural program was offered at four universities: Adams State College in Colorado, California State College-San Diego, University of Texas-Pan American and St. Edwards University in Texas, according to the organization website.

Smith says there are now more than 60 universities in the country with funding for the program. This award cycle is the first time the CAMP programs will be offered in Alaska, according to the college’s press release.

In addition to the Kenai campus, the University of Alaska Anchorage and Kodiak College received similar funding. The funding for all three campuses was secured with the assistance of Heather Grant, director of institutional grants and projects at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

In Kodiak, the director is Jacelyn Keys and in Anchorage the director is Emily Davidson.

Though the national program was started to support migrant farm labor, in Alaska this could pertain mostly to students with a history in the commercial fishing industry or with background in subsistence harvest.

According to the release, the program requires that an individual or an immediate family member has spent 75 days during the past 24 months in seasonal labor. In the commercial fishing industry, this means that a family fishing vessel commutes to harvest seafood in a region away from home.

Summer Lazenby, also recently hired as CAMP coordinator, said that although K-12 migrant education students are one way to qualify for the program, if an older student is interested in applying and participates in migratory labor that person will qualify also.

Smith said funding can cover student stipends, tuition bills, books, academic fees, housing, transportation and health care. In addition, it will support the campus in providing additional services to students such as academic coaching, leadership development, mentoring, career development and CAMP cohort activities.

Smith said the first full cohort of students will enroll in the fall 2025 semester but that CAMP is looking to identify students already in the River Campus system who may qualify.

Sara Rinearson, director of student services on the Kenai River Campus, said she was excited to bring the program to Alaska.

“The population that we have here is going to look a lot different than it does in the Lower 48 and I’m really excited to see what type of students were able to recruit into the program. I think it will be a really interesting spin on what this program has been traditionally.”

People interested in applying or for more information can find information on the UA websites. In Kenai, the website is https://kpc.alaska.edu/admissions-aid/registration/camp-grant/.