Edna Castro's account is up to $160, and she hopes to have that total up to $500 by May. Private donors are matching up to that amount for each girls' account, Lovejoy said.

"By the end of the year I'll have $1,000," Edna said.

Kellie Anne Foreman, U. admissions counselor and diversity programs coordinator, said the most engaging part of the tour seemed to be the realization that there are Spanish-language books at the library. Foreman said the program is helping to get youth thinking about higher education at a young age.

"They were very engaged in what was going on," she said.

The girls learned about goal-setting from artist Ruby Chacon.

"That initial seed, that initial idea at that age . . . it's very, very important," Chacon said. "I think my role models as a young girl were very invisible. I had to seek them out."

Luz Robles, director of the Utah Office of Ethnic Affairs, told the girls her own story of reaching success as an immigrant.

"It's a great opportunity to empower young girls and their mothers," Robles said. "They need to be empowered that in this country the sky is the limit and anyone can achieve anything. . . . If they continue on the right path they are going to get somewhere."

Backman principal Fern Wilkerson said the program is "a great way to broaden their horizons" in a way they might not have had available otherwise.

"Their self-esteem just blossomed," she said. "They were exposed to good literature, guest speakers, and good role models came in and encouraged them."

Backman is a multicultural school that receives Title I funds for low-income children. About 67 percent of the students are Latino, Wilkerson said, and some 32 languages are represented.

"It's such a good program, I wish it could be extended to more than the small number of girls, and to other cultures, too," she said.

Lovejoy said the program could be tailored for any ethnic group.

"Mine just happens to be working with Hispanic girls and moms," she said. "It could be any ethnic group, including Caucasian students."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com