Teens graduate program to become 1st in families to attend college

SAN DIEGO – Greater than 140 native teenagers graduated from a particular program Sunday to set them on the trail to changing into first-generation school college students.

They held pennants excessive over their heads that includes the names and colours of a few of the nation’s most prestigious colleges from Yale to Stanford to UC San Diego, amongst others. It was a part of a celebration marking the top of their time in Actuality Changers, a San Diego-based nonprofit program which helps college students to change into the primary of their households to attend school.

Many college students in this system come from deprived backgrounds, some with low-income households or little expertise with post-secondary schooling. In it, they’re offered instruments and backing to change into “brokers of change of their communities” by taking the leap into school, this system’s web site exhibits.

“I acquired accepted into about 12 of the faculties I utilized to,” program graduate Natalia Armenta mentioned. “I made a decision to go to Stanford.”

This system’s twenty second annual Scholar Celebration was held at UCSD’s Park and Market constructing.

It was a joyous recognition of space youth who quickly are off to larger and higher issues in life. And that’s why this system issues, Actuality Changers CEO Tamara Craver mentioned.

“As a result of with optimistic help from friends and from mentors, that may change a scholar’s trajectory into going into school,” Craver mentioned, “and never solely going however graduating school.”

Graduates additionally heard from Shakur Collins, who went by means of this system and located her voice by means of it.

“With me being a Black girl dwelling with a incapacity, I’ve triple oppressed identities and I’ve been on the receiving finish of what it means to be in a system that’s not accessible,” Collins mentioned, “and so what I’m going to do is use a mix of my schooling and expertise to get my very own seat on the desk in order that I’m the voice for the underrepresented and the underserved.”

Now, many of those graduates will go on to attend the college of their goals.

“I’m first-generation and my dad and mom are low-income so it’s form of onerous to undergo that school course of and never having the help from my dad and mom,” program graduate Fernando Sanchez mentioned, “however having Actuality Changers actually helped me to undergo that school course of.”

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