When 16-year-old Mayra Arrez decided her academic studies weren’t going quite as smoothly as she had hoped, she decided to take a different direction with her life.
After the bright young woman from the Tri-Cities area of Washington informed her high school teacher that she would be discontinuing her studies, her teacher encouraged her to look into the High School Equivalency Program. Intrigued, Arrez learned more about the program and made the journey down to Eugene to earn her GED.
The program, commonly known as HEP, assists motivated men and women from migrant and seasonal farm working families to earn their GEDs. The program offers an alternative education to non-traditional students in hopes of increasing their chances of securing higher-paying jobs or simply encouraging them to continue down the path of higher education.

“I hope to become a pharmacist,” Arrez said, the hint of a smile creeping onto her face. “I don’t want to stop my education, and I know if I did take time off, I probably wouldn’t go back.”
Arrez is one of 32 students HEP will guide through the program this term. During fall, winter and spring terms combined, HEP generally helps 94 students graduate from the program and pass the GED test, which is administered by the University but sponsored by the state of Oregon.
Federally funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Migrant Education, HEP works under the College of Education’s wing, HEP Director Joel Montemayor said.
Montemayor said he encourages HEP instructors to attend teaching seminars through the education school to enhance their professional development. He added that College of Education Dean Michael Bullis and University President Dave Frohnmayer often show their support toward HEP students and faculty.
Though the program remains federally funded, Montemayor said HEP only receives one five-year grant at a time. Every five years, the HEP director must reapply for the grant. Though the program has continually received funding since its inception 41 years ago, it’s always in danger of losing the grant, Montemayor said.
In the meantime, the 10-week program requires students to pass core subjects such as math, grammar, writing, biological and physical science, social studies and literature. Each cohort, as Montemayor refers to it, consists of three groups. The first two groups primarily speak Spanish while the third group consists of English speakers or bilingual students.
“The days are going by pretty fast,” Arrez said. She added that by living in the residence halls, she’s made many friends on her floor with whom she dines and shops on a regular basis. Montemayor said HEP maintains an excellent relationship with University Housing and resident assistants who work to integrate HEP students into the community. From studying the annual end-of-year HEP reports, Montemayor said HEP boasts an 85 to 90 percent success rate.
“This is a really great opportunity that I have and I’ve met a lot of great people,” Arrez said.
HEP recruiter Armando Bravo works to encourage those who wouldn’t otherwise have finished school to come back and earn their GED. He often speaks on various radio stations, including 99.1 FM, to reach a largely Hispanic audience.
“One of the radio station DJs, Andy Manuel, is a HEP grad from 1970,” Armando said. “And every time he sees me, he says he probably wouldn’t have gone into radio if it wasn’t for HEP.”
Bravo emphasized the need in the Hispanic community to continue support for programs like HEP, of which there are 48 nationwide. He explained that some students today are not academically prepared because of various demographic reasons. But he remains optimistic that if students are able to stay in the program all the way through, their chances at success will be higher.
After 20 years working with HEP, Bravo said he is just as energized and enthusiastic as when he started.
“I say it was many years ago and millions of hairs ago,” Bravo chuckled, removing a hat from his head. “I love this job and I love this community.”
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