The benefits of the Office of University Partnership's Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) program were evident in the recent graduation ceremony at San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus, located in Calexico, California, on the US-Mexico border. With the help of a $600,000 HSIAC grant, the Imperial Valley Empowered Program was developed to provide residents of the colonias around Calexico with a unique opportunity focusing on: literacy and language, workforce development, computer technology and support services. On June 25, 2007, Frank Riley, San Diego Field Office Director, was one of the speakers at the graduation of forty students who have completed the language component of the program. Other speakers included the Dean of the Imperial Valley Campus and two students, who gave testimonials in English about the benefits of this HUD-funded resource and showed that participating in a program conducted at San Diego State University was a great source of pride for all the students and their families.