Photos courtesy Holly Fox.
Despite the enormous challenges of the last year, all 12 Corazón Healdsburg FirstGen seniors are graduating high school and headed to their four-year college of choice this fall.
This particular cohort of seniors have endured fires, floods and a global pandemic, which closed Healdsburg High School for in-person learning for more than a year.
The biggest challenge for Alberto Yovani Avalos Ortiz — who’s set to attend Sonoma State University — was to get his grades back up after missing almost a month of school junior year due to a knee injury from playing football.
Then, “two days after I returned to school, I missed another week due to wildfire evacuations. Once we returned from the wildfires, I had basically all failing grades and only a month before the semester was over,” he said. “I worked really hard and made no excuses. In the end, I got my grades up and was able to continue to pursue my goals,” Alberto said.
Corazón Healdsburg’s FirstGen Counseling program helps prepare historically underserved high school students in Healdsburg to become the first generation in their families to attend a four-year university.
Beginning in 9th grade, students receive comprehensive one-on-one support through the entire college application process.
Collaborating with school counselors and other college-access partners, FirstGen works with students and their families to help them navigate the often complicated and overwhelming college application process.
This year’s graduates had 64 total college acceptances and earned more than $70,000 in scholarships from Healdsburg High School.
“The FirstGen program is our way of saying, ‘we as a community believe in you and know you can achieve great things,’” said program founder and director Dr. Lori Rhodes. “The last four years have been tough in so many ways, but these brilliant, hardworking students never lost sight of their goals.”
FirstGen students attend programs at colleges and universities around the country each summer where they are able to participate in hands-on learning, experience living on-campus in dorms and explore different academic fields.
Last summer most of the programs shifted to virtual, but all of this year’s graduates were able to attend multiple in-person programs during their high school career.
“Overall, being part of FirstGen was a great experience. I was able to experience what college was like through the summer camps I attended, and I met new friends,” said Mercedes Ibanez, who will be attending San Francisco State University.
These are the 2021 FirstGen graduates and the colleges where they will be attending this fall:
Alberto Yovani Avalos Ortiz — Sonoma State University
Jennifer Carrada — Cal Poly Pomona
Angel Gonzalez Rodriguez — University of Notre Dame
Diana Guzman — Cal Poly Pomona
Erik Guzman — UC Davis
Camilla Hernandez — Cal State Northridge
Mercedes Ibanez —San Francisco State University
Bryant Nunez — UC Riverside
Edgar Ortiz — Sonoma State University
Nayceht Pelaez — San Jose State University
Safalta Purkuti — San Francisco State University
Maira G. Rodriguez Meza — UC Davis
“The success of these twelve is proof that with a little bit of investment, dedication, time and love, our students can overcome an unjust system and achieve their own dreams,” said Corazón Healdsburg CEO, Glaydon de Freitas.
Angel Gonzalez Rodriguez is the first Corazón FirstGen student to be awarded a prestigious full-ride scholarship through the QuestBridge College Match program, which connects the nation’s most exceptional, low-income youth with leading colleges and opportunities.
“Honestly,” said Angel Gonzalez Rodriguez, “graduating feels so surreal especially after everything we’ve been through this year. I’m really excited to head off to college and start a new chapter in my life, and I know that my family, friends, teachers, and fellow community members will be cheering during the next four years.”
