Stories of our youth
When Kenya began her final year of high school, the reality of graduation and the uncertainty of her future plans caused her much anxiety. Throughout her senior year, staff from the Tu Futuro Program devoted several hours to support and encourage Kenya to pursue her dreams of a higher education.
Kenya, like many others that La Plaza's programs serve, is a first-generation college student whose family lives below the poverty line. Her parents struggle with English and work seven days a week to make ends meet. These obstacles merely fuel the drive and motivation Kenya has to succeed in school and life.
La Plaza's staff worked with Kenya through more than 60 personal contacts, including small group workshops offered at her school, individual consultations with her and her family, help with revisions of college and scholarship essays, resumes, and applications, visits to local college campuses, and opportunities to participate in community service activities with other students in La Plaza's programs.
In her own words, "when it was time to decide on a college, it was very difficult for me, because I realized that I did not have the same opportunities that many of my classmates had. But during this process La Plaza has helped me to find scholarships for which I qualify, and I have also been doing community service with them. They have helped me with my questions about college, and also to decide which career I was really interested in. Thanks to La Plaza I am on my way to finishing my degree accomplishing my dream.
Kenya, once timid and unsure, is now a proud and confident young woman who is giving back. She shares her story with young girls in La Plaza's Mother-Daughter Program, encourages them to take their education seriously, and teaches them that with determination, drive, and hope, they too can overcome barriers and succeed in life. She says, "La Plaza has shown me that we need to go to college and earn a degree, and that we can overcome barriers that have been placed in front of us. All the obstacles that I have overcome have just increased my desire to receive an education and a good future career."
