Hailing from Kayenta, Arizona, Chermiqua Tsosie grew up in Phoenix and spent summers going again dwelling to her small city within the Navajo Nation, which sparked a deep curiosity to sometime return to assist her group — maybe as a doctor.
But as a high school pupil, she had self-doubt that possibly she wasn’t good sufficient, or ok, to be a doctor.
“My high school self was petrified. I was so scared of the MCAT and eventually having to take an exam that’s so long, or to take organic chemistry; I can’t do that — that’s what smart people do,” Tsosie mentioned.
That slowly began to vary in summer time 2019, after her sophomore 12 months at Camelback High School, when she joined the Joaquin Bustoz Math-Science Honors Program at Arizona State University.
As the students sat in a single of the small gyms on the Sun Devil Fitness Complex, program supervisor Cynthia Barragan Romero started orientation by sharing they’d been chosen from over 700 high school candidates and have been “the cream of the crop.”
And although Tsosie mentioned her first summer time was nonetheless spent preventing emotions of imposter syndrome, she was on a path towards reaching what she thought wasn’t potential.
The Joaquin Bustoz Math-Science Honors Program was launched in 1985. It is a six-week residential arithmetic summer time program the place motivated high school students take a college-level math course for college credit score, without charge to them.
Students take part in success classes that handle each the tutorial and social challenges of STEM — science, expertise, engineering and math — whereas offering beneficial steering on school admissions. Staff present tutoring and mentoring to assist students of their transition to school life, combining rigorous lecturers with a deep sense of group and belonging.
The program celebrated its fortieth anniversary this 12 months. More than 120 attendees, spanning the 4 many years, reminisced and shared testimonies of how the program modified the trajectory of their lives throughout a festive dinner and gala on Oct. 4.
The Joaquin Bustoz Math-Science Honors Program was designed to assist those that have been first of their household to attend school, typically from low-income neighborhoods or rural cities. Over 3,200 students have accomplished the program. Since 2005, a formidable 99% of program individuals have attended school, with 73% incomes a STEM diploma.
“We are so proud to celebrate the Joaquin Bustoz Math-Science Honors Program’s 40th anniversary. The program’s commitment to creating opportunities for talented students from all walks of life perfectly aligns with the ASU Charter,” said Executive Vice President and University Provost Nancy Gonzales. “For four decades, you have positively impacted thousands of families and strengthened communities, leaving an inspiring legacy that we are honored to support. Here’s to your continued success.”
The summer time program was the brainchild of Joaquin Bustoz Jr., who wished to extend the quantity of PhD students in arithmetic. He launched what was initially known as the Math-Science Honors Program in 1985 and led the program till 2003, when he died from accidents associated to an car accident.
Joaquin Bustoz Jr.’s youngest son, David, shared reminiscences of his father on the gala. Born in 1939, his father was one of 5 siblings born to Joaquin Bustoz Sr. and spouse Ramona.
“My dad always emphasized just how poor his family was — ‘really poor,’ he’d say. He used to joke that the reason he didn’t have a middle name was because his parents were too poor to afford one. His parents initially worked as farm laborers but later found jobs at a rural school, as a janitor and a lunch lady,” David Bustoz mentioned.
“In 1957, two major events shaped my dad’s life. First, the launch of Sputnik triggered a national focus on STEM education, creating opportunities for students — especially those like my dad — to pursue mathematics as part of the Space Race and Cold War efforts.
“The second event was more personal. My dad was expelled from Tempe High School for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance. This was his protest against the systemic inequality in American society and the racism he experienced in Tempe, a town where Mexican Americans were only allowed to swim in the public pool on Thursdays, just before it was cleaned, and where African Americans weren’t allowed to swim at all. Tempe was technically a ‘sundown’ town.
“My father believed that the circumstances of a child’s birth should not be the determining factor in that child’s future success, and through his own success and position he tried to manifest the idea.”
When Trachette Jackson joined the Math-Science Honors Program as a high school junior again in 1989, she vividly remembers her first time assembly Bustoz Jr.
“I was a cocky 15-year-old kid, and I distinctly recall sitting in the cafeteria of Palo Verde East, one of the ASU dorms, on the first day of the summer program, waiting to receive my score on the math placement exam. When I learned that I scored a 98%, I marched right up to a man in Levi’s and Birkenstocks and asked if anyone had earned 100%.
“He looked down at me and said, ‘Yes, Miss Jackson, two or three students received a perfect score. But they all just took calculus during their senior year of high school, and I understand that you still have one year of high school left — and that you haven’t yet taken a calculus course.’
“I was stunned that he knew my name, because I had no idea who I was speaking to. What I also couldn’t have predicted was the profound impact he would go on to have on my life. That’s how I first met and came to know Joaquin Bustoz — the person to whom I owe much of my mathematical career,” Jackson mentioned.
Jackson at the moment works because the affiliate vice chairman for research-strategic partnerships and inclusive excellence and as a professor of arithmetic on the University of Michigan.
Cynthia Barragan Romero grew up in Yuma and as a young person could not wait to depart. She attended the Joaquin Bustoz program as a pupil in 1993 and 1994, and earned a arithmetic diploma from ASU in 1998. She returned to the summer time program to work as a workers tutor and success coach, as many alumni do. One day she informed Bustoz that he ought to rent her to recruit extra students to the program — and he did. She began in 2000 and has been main the program for the previous 25 years.
She understands the significance of students having tutors that appear like them. Nearly 60% of summer time workers are alumni that return to assist the subsequent cohort of students.
“There would be a 16-year-old kid from Yuma and, oh my gosh, I had been a 16-year-old kid from Yuma! Being able to see myself in them and knowing I needed help them the same way somebody helped me. That’s something that hasn’t changed in all these years,” Barragan Romero mentioned.
“We push the kids as far as they can go academically because we’re here to catch them, we’re here to help them. That’s been my favorite thing,” she mentioned. “Talking to the parents afterward and they say, ‘I don’t know what you guys did but this isn’t the same kid I had six weeks ago.’ Their confidence level just shot up. They’re so excited about coming to college.”
Savion Smith was raised in Phoenix by a single mom who was the primary in her household to attend school. Smith first attended the program in the summertime of 2007. There have been occasions in his training when he felt singled out — typically positively, because the “smart Black guy,” however different occasions with suspicion or doubt.
“I remember a physics test where I was accused of cheating and received a 57% on what I knew was solid work. I had the confidence to challenge the grade. The professor did ask me to redo every question on the blackboard, which I did. He revised my grade to a 90%,” Smith mentioned. “Experiences like that can weigh heavily on self-esteem and even push people away from math and science altogether.
“The JBMSHP provided a supportive community and a place of belonging. Students have meals covered, strong academic support and a community that believes in them. That environment allows students to shine and focus solely on their abilities. Once a student knows they can survive the academic rigor of JBMSHP, they know they can thrive anywhere.”
Smith went on to finish a Bachelor of Science in arithmetic at ASU, and a Doctor of Medicine, MD, on the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He is at the moment the chief fellow in youngster psychiatry on the Yale School of Medicine’s Child Study Center.
The rigorous but supportive math program helped Tsosie from Kayenta to beat the sentiments that she didn’t belong.
“I kept reminding myself, maybe you stayed up until 12 a.m. doing derivatives but you still got up the next morning to continue — and you ended the program with high grades. The program equipped me with the time management skills and personal academic resiliency to keep pushing,” she mentioned.
She is at the moment a scientific analysis assistant with the Indigenous well being unit of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She lately accomplished the MCAT and hopes to be attending medical school in fall 2026.
Tsosie praised the efforts of program supervisor Barragan Romero and coordinator Ciera Duran in making the program so profitable.
“They get you to that next level, and in a way that is so genuine. Having someone who really believes in you — that gives you the strength to continue.”
“Cindy and Ciera are the soul, the heart and the muscle of JBMSHP,” mentioned Fabio Milner, professor of arithmetic and codirector of the Simon A. Levin Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center within the School of Mathematical and Statisical Sciences, who honored the 2 on the fortieth celebration. “This dynamic duo has led the program through many transitions and kept Dr. Bustoz’ vision going strong. Their dedication is the reason for the program’s long-running success, and I am proud and thankful for working with them year after year.”
“The program is successful because it creates an environment where students can tackle hard subjects alongside people who share similar experiences and understand their journey,” Jackson said. “That sense of belonging is powerful; it transforms rigorous academic challenges into opportunities to grow with the support of peers who become lifelong friends. JBMSHP does so much more than teach mathematics — it nurtures confidence, perseverance and the belief that you belong in the discipline, which is why its impact has been so enduring and so successful.”