Mother Follows in Daughter’s Footsteps

For most young adults, starting college means leaving the family nest and setting out on their own for the first time in their lives. Not for Monique D’Balcazar.

Next month, the 15-year-old prodigy from Panorama City becomes a student at Cal State Northridge, but she won’t be alone. At her side in the classroom will be her mother, Jo-ana, 34.

“I think parents should be involved in their children’s education,” Jo-ana D’Balcazar said of her decision two years ago to follow her daughter to college. “Not only say it, do it.”

In May, the pair received associate degrees from Valley College. They both have their sights set on bachelor’s degrees in speech communication and plan to graduate together in 1998.

“She doesn’t act like my mom,” Monique said of the strange situation of having her mom as her classmate. “People think she’s my best friend, sister.”

This week, mother and daughter are getting a taste of CSUN during a six-day orientation program for transfer students that requires them to live on campus. On Wednesday, the D’Balcazars prepared for a writing exam they’ll have to pass to graduate and received their campus e-mail addresses.

“It gives you a step ahead,” Jo-ana said of the Summer Bridge program, describing a schedule of workshops and social activities designed to acclimate students to the sprawling campus and the demands of academic life.

Inspired by teacher Jaime Escalante, whose success teaching calculus to high school students is the stuff of legend, Jo-ana said during lunch in a campus cafeteria that all parents should play an active role in encouraging their children’s success. But although they’ll remain classmates for the next two years, she said she’s happy to let Monique stand in the spotlight.

“I always let her be No. 1. She’s growing up,” she said. “I already grew up.”