Many
high school students devote their time and energy on pursuing their dreams of
going to college. With all of the obstacles youth face - including financial barriers, strict application requirements, balancing extracurricular activities, unsafe environments, peer pressure, and family obligations - it's always cause to celebrate when they have successfully navigated their way to high school graduation. Our College Bound program
provides students with the resources and attention they need to overcome these obstacles.
Elizabeth
Machado
is one of the graduating seniors from our San Pedro Club who will be honored at the Celebration as one of our highest achieving students. Elizabeth is a San Pedro High School
senior and was accepted into several top universities including an Ivy League school before choosing to go to UCLA in the fall. She is a first generation Mexican
American and her family has experienced much success thanks to College Bound.
Her cousin and brother both completed the program and will return to San Pedro
from their four-year universities to celebrate with Elizabeth. Her younger
brother is working hard with College Bound case managers to match his sister’s
accomplishments in a couple of years.
Francisco
Hinojosa is
a Banning High School graduate from the Wilmington Club who has overcome social
and financial struggles to accomplish his dreams. He will attend UC Santa
Barbara in the fall as the first in his family to go to college. He was raised
in a low income household by parents who each work two jobs to support their
family which required Francisco to take on a part-time job to help. Despite
these hardships, Francisco was able to balance school, extra-curricular
activities, community service and his job to get good grades. Thanks to the
support of the College Bound program in helping him keep up his grades and
complete his applications, Francisco earned the financial aid and scholarships
to make his dreams a reality.
Kimberly Melendez is a senior at Banning High School, attends our Wilmington Club and will attend UC Berkeley in the fall. As she was preparing her college applications with the guidance of our College Bound case managers, she spoke of the many challenges she faced when she entered high school. Many of the youth in her neighborhood fell into gang life or dealt with teen pregnancy. The Boys & Girls Club became a place that she could escape and make friends with peers who shared similar goals. Despite seeing her friends succumb to distractions, Kimberly focused on her school work and will graduate as an AP scholar for her high marks on multiple Advanced Placement exams.
"The College Bound Program has provided me with the foundation and fundamentals I needed to go onto my dream college. The staff here are like family to me. - Kimberly |
“Honestly if I didn't have College Bound I would not be
going to college. You guys made the process of picking schools easy and made my
experience of high school more fun filled.” - Joshua
|
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