March was a memorable month for JOYA Scholars! We had the amazing opportunity to share about our mentoring program with the wonderful leadership team at El Dorado High School! 13 out of our 15 high school students attend EDHS. What’s more, the generous staff at District Tours, granted 3 of our 10th grade students the opportunity to participate in a week-long Northern California college tour this April! Thank you for your ongoing support of our work in the Garnet Neighborhood. Your partnership makes these opprotunities possible for JOYA and our students.
A Meeting to Remember
by: Bianca Peña / Program Director
On March 9th, Emily and I had the great opportunity to meet with the principal, school psychologist and four counselors of El Dorado High School. I think most people, like myself, assume that school administrators are to overwhelmed to extend themselves to organizations outside of their institution. Yet, what I found in meeting with the EDHS staff was the complete opposite. They were sincerely interested in JOYA and gracious enough to give me an hour of their time and attention.
Thirteen of the fifteen high school students in our mentoring program attend EDHS. This makes building a relationship with EDHS particularly important.It enables us to collaborate with their staff as we seek to provide our students with as much guidance as possible. We feel so fortunate to to receive the enthusiastic support of the EDHS leadership team and we're excited that they were each eager to refer their students to our mentoring program as well as our tutoring nights. Our thanks to EDHS for their belief in our work in the Garnet neighborhood. It will be exciting to partner together to provide JOYA students with increased academic and relational support as they progress in school and prepare for college.
6 Campuses, 5 Days, 1 Incredible College Tour
by: Emily Cross / Mentor Coordinator
At the end of April, three of our 10th grade students, Xochitl, Leslie and Aidee, will have the opportunity to participate in a college tour of six prestigious schools throughout California, including Santa Clara University, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Berkeley and Stanford University. They are sure to have countless inspiring experiences as they tour the campuses, sit-in on lectures, eat in dining halls, interact with students and admissions representatives and even see the sights in San Francisco.
This is truly a unique and special opportunity for our students and we are so grateful for the generosity of those at District Tours, who provided two full scholarships to help cover the costs of the trip. Trips such as these are incredibly significant for our students because they transform the idea of college into a goal that seems attainable and that they are able to visualize themselves fulfilling, rather than simply a dream that feels distant and abstract. We know that their experiences on this trip will prove to be a great inspiration to Xochitl, Leslie and Aidee as they complete high school and pursue their dreams of studying nursing, medicine and fashion design.
Announcement
We are half-way through our 100 Campaign.
Thanks to many generous contributors we have raised over $7,000 in 30 days. We are so grateful for the support!
We have the month of April now to fundraise an additional $3,000 to reach our goal of $10,000. Our campaign ends April 30th with a reception at the PAS Gallery in downtown Fullerton. Donate today and be entered in an iPad2 giveaway (winner must be present at the reception).
Final Note
This month we also hosted our second debrief meeting of the school year, held a workshop on the A-G requirements, and started discussion about establishing a Learning Center in the neighborhood. Great things are happening for the students in our mentoring program. If you'd like to learn more about getting involved with JOYA Scholars please contact Bianca, our Program Director, at biancapena@joyascholars.org or 714.322.JOYA. Thank you!
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