Hear Glow Scholars: “What I learned from Glow Financial Education Program”

Students talk about what they learned during Glow’s Financial Education Program

Also: hear why they want to go to college

Yoali Attending UC Santa Cruz
	Yoali’s dedication, positive attitude, and work ethic have helped her get admitted to a number of four-year universities. Seeing how hard her parents have had to work without a diploma or college degree has inspired her to pursue a higher education. As a sophomore at Palo Alto High School, Yoali joined Foundation for a College Education (FCE) to help prepare her for college. While there, she joined FCE’s Student Leadership Team and has helped facilitate and plan a number of FCE events and programs. She is also a team player supporting her peers as well as FCE staff. Yoali hopes to get a career in nursing or teaching.
Rosa Attending Santa Clara University
	Rosa is a highly motivated student who has been actively involved in her community while maintaining a GPA of 3.913! Rosa will be the first person in her family to attend college and is living not only her dream, but the dream of her late sister. Despite these obstacles, Rosa pushed herself to excel and hopes to not only make her family proud, but to also be a role model to her younger siblings. She has been taking steps throughout her entire high school career to make the transition to college as easy as possible by taking part in College Track, Summer Search, and BUILD where she acted as CFO to “Heart and Soul Publishing,” a greeting card company. Rosa is very excited about attending Santa Clara University and plans to major in communications.
Hakeem Attending UC Santa Barbara
	In Hakeem’s essay to Glow, he wrote that in his freshman year of high school, a classmate told him, “I’ve never met a smart black person before.” Hakeem is driven to challenge this stereotype and is excited to attend UC Santa Barbara and continue to achieve academic excellence. Hakeem is a top performer at Leadership Public Schools (LPS), San Jose. He has participated in a number of activities at LPS including student government, yearbook and basketball. He wants to study medicine so he can help others.
Danny Attending CSU Easy Bay
	Danny’s story is truly remarkable. As a sophomore, Danny cared for his parents and 6-year-old brother and became his family’s main provider. He worked at both Macy’s and Taco Bell in order to put food on the table and struggled to balance his time between work, school, and family. Despite these challenges, Danny never felt sorry for himself and remained positive. When he began struggling with his schoolwork, he worked with a teacher to help him get back on track and completed his assignments on time. Danny was also involved in a number of other extracurricular activities including Summer Math and Science Honors Academy (SMASH), College Track, and basketball where he served as the team captain for his junior and senior year. Danny’s leadership extends beyond the basketball court and into the classroom where he helps students complete their homework. Danny’s optimism, resourcefulness, and drive will help his succeed at Cal State East Bay this fall where he will study business and environmental science.
Yara Attending Loyola Marymount University
	Yara will be the first in her family to attend college. She is Leadership Public Schools, San Jose’s valedictorian. In the classroom, Yara is credited with inspiring other students to work harder through healthy competition and acts as a “dedicated, resourceful team player.” She is motivated to act not only as a primary family contributor, but also as a community contributor and role model. She plans to pursue a BA in Art in addition to getting her teaching credential. In the future, Yara hopes to found a community center where she can create workshops for parents of underserved youth to help them become better involved in their children’s education.