A good education makes an individual develop personally, socially, as well as economically. Education helps us to do our daily life activities in the best possible ways. Education helps to acquire new skills and knowledge that will impact lives. One is never too old to lean and be educated.
Students Rising Above (SRA) is a pioneer in recognizing that low-income, first generation students need more than a tuition check to successfully graduate from college. Access to college and affordability are not enough to ensure completion. SRA provides its students with individualized financial support, one-on-one advising and mentoring, access to healthcare, and career guidance. The Julia Burke Foundation has generously supported SRA in their efforts to provide students with comprehensive academic and mentoring support. 90% of their students graduate from college which is 2-3 times greater than the national average for low-income, first generation students.
Pictured from left: Wendy Tokuda and SRA graduates Hector Rodriguez, Boston College; Lorna Contreras, St. Mary's College; and Byron Wilson, San Francisco State.
Pictured from left: Advisor Gina Geck and college freshmen.
SRA plans to double the number of Bay Area students selected into their program to over 350+ by 2016. Efforts will also include expanding the summer internship program, and providing graduates with career assessment, guidance, and networking opportunities to help them successfully transition into the work force. The Julia Burke Foundation will provide funds to expand their College2Careers program. Additional funds from the Julia Burke Foundation will be utilized to support SRA's growing team of Advisors who are the cornerstone of the program's success. Each student is matched with an SRA Advisor from the beginning in their junior year of high school until college graduation.
Started 1998 by television news anchor Wendy Tokuda, SRA began as a news series featuring students who were beating the odds. Over the years, this Peabody and National Emmy award-winning program grew into a 501(c)3 sending over 260 students to colleges across the country including Cal, Stanford, Harvard, Yale and more.
Students Rising Above invests in low-income, first generation college students who have demonstrated educational commitment and strength of character in overcoming tremendous odds of poverty, homelessness, and neglect. The program helps students realize their potential by supporting them to and through college and into the workforce. These graduates are a new generation of employees and leaders from diverse backgrounds who are giving back to their communities.
75% of the students selected into SRA live below the federal poverty level, 60% are from foster care or are not living with a parent; 50% have been abandoned or homeless, and 25% are raising siblings. To learn more about SRA, visit StudentsRisingAbove
The College Preparatory School
6100 Broadway
Oakland, California 94618
Contact: Monique Devane, head of School
Phone: 510-652-0111
www.college-prep.org
See Eulogy by Jonathan Cowperthwait, Classmate
This fund is enabling other gifted students the opportunity to be members of this wonderful high school community.
Established in the summer of 2015, the Julia Burke Foundation Jesuit College Scholarship Fund provides critical support to help close financial aid gaps between the financial aid awards that Jesuit colleges can provide to our students and the total cost of attending Jesuit schools. Every year a sizeable number of SRA students express interest in pursuing higher education at Jesuit institutions. These SRA students appreciate the holistic approach to Jesuit education as well as its emphasis on ethics, critical thinking, and being "of service to others." However, the high cost of tuition at Jesuit colleges, coupled with the relatively low level of financial aid offered by Jesuit institutions, has limited SRA's ability to support students in choosing Jesuit colleges. While SRA is committed to matching students with best-fit colleges, we are also committed to ensuring the SRA students are able to rise above poverty. Helping our students avoid heavy student loans is critical to their ability to embark on economic self-sufficiency as they graduate from college. The Julia Burke Foundation College Jesuit College Scholarship fund makes Jesuit colleges a viable higher education option for SRA students. The impact can already be seen. Prior to establishing the fund, only one or two SRA students would enroll at a Jesuit college in any given year. In 2015 the year we established the fund, seven SRA students enrolled at Jesuit colleges.
Students Rising Above is one of the most successful college completion programs in the country, is offering free online college admissions, financial aid, and career development support through its SRA College 2 Careers Hub. Available to students 24/7, the SRA Hub provides personalized and professional online advising to students along the critical thinking pathway from high school, to and through college, and into the workforce. Below are some of the SRA Hub's benefits and features:
If you are a high school or college student and you are interested in joining our online community head to sracollege2careers.org to create your account today!
Defy Ventures is a United States based 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization founded in 2010. The organization’s goal is to address the social problems of mass incarceration, recidivism, and related issues by providing well-being, entrepreneurship, employment, and personal development training programs to individuals with criminal histories.
Andrew Glazier
CEO and President
5 Penn Plaza 19th Floor
New York, 10001
www.DefyVentures.org
Hirsch Academy is a nonprofit school in the Atlanta metro area. Hirsch Academy provides students with unique learning needs the chance to connect with peers and access to targeted educational resources. The educational philosophy is that individual differences should be understood, supported, and celebrated. The school was established in 2001.
Shelley Carnes
Head of School
705 South Candler St.
Decatur, GA 30030
info@hirschacademy.org
St. John of the Cross Catholic School is located in San Diego, California. The school is a comprehensive preschool, elementary and middle school accredited by the Western Catholic Education Association.
Julie Johnson
Principal
Fr. Mark Bachmeier, Pastor
www.holycrosspdx.org/school
