This is a season when students are waiting to hear back from colleges and universities and making the difficult decision of where to go next year, many of them being the first in their family to go through this process.
Several of our alumni are currently attending college, including those who received a Hope Horizon East Palo Alto scholarship towards their studies. The Hope Horizon East Palo Alto scholarship program was created to encourage and assist our youth in pursuit of higher education and to encourage community involvement, volunteerism and ministry involvement by students during their college years.
We’d like you to hear from three of our current scholarship recipients:
I have been involved with Hope Horizon EPA throughout my life. I participated in KidSmart during elementary school, where I completed STEM related worksheets, read many books, and overall grew as a student. In addition, attending Bible Club and StreetWorkz helped me learn about God. I have also participated in programs throughout the summer, which were fun because of all the many workshops that were provided. It has been very rewarding being involved with Hope Horizon EPA and I hope to continue working here to help kids of the community.
In addition to being involved with Hope Horizon, I have played soccer in local clubs since I was six. I have played all positions including being captain of my soccer team. I also participated at the Latinx club at my high school and was president of the club for two years.
Being a part of the community at Hope Horizon, I have learned and grown so much as a person. I learned what it means to build a relationship with God through programs like StreetWorkz, and gained work experience through internship opportunities. Participating in the many programs, and with other kids from my community, I knew that I helping my community is important. At Hope Horizon EPA, I was part of a loving community that has helped me become who I am today.
Attending KidSmart when I was younger, I had a support system with homework that really helped me stay on top of my schoolwork. This helped me create better habits with time management and organization. Doing an internship with Hope Horizon EPA during the summer has impacted my career interests. I have found a new interest in working with kids. The internship was especially meaningful because I worked with kids from my community and I ensured that they had a significant as well as a fun summer that let them stay ahead of their class. With the internship, I was able to learn important skills such as communication along with listening. I come from a low-income family where the cost of attending college is a huge financial hardship for my family. Along with the other scholarships I have applied for, this scholarship will help with many college finances such as textbooks and tuition.
My involvement with Hope Horizon EPA began when I was in elementary school, attending KidSmart and then Create Academy, Create Studios, StreetWorks and robotics (FLL and FRC). During high school, I was also involved with Youth United for Community Action (YUCA), the Latinx club, Foundation for a College Education, and was also a student note taker.
When I began attending Hope Horizon EPA when I was in elementary school, it was a space
where I could get my schoolwork done and receive help when needed. Hope Horizon is the
reason why my spelling improved. I remember taking spelling quizzes and writing the words I got wrong ten times. I wrote “straight” so many times I don't even have to think about how to
spell it.
Additionally, because of my involvement in Hope Horizon, I became involved in robotics. Hope Horizon is the reason why I became so interested in Legos. At one of the holiday parties, I was given a Lego set and it sparked my interest in Legos. When I heard about the Lego robotics program starting at Hope Horizon, I decided to join. Eight years later I am transitioning out as team captain of the first and only FIRST Robotics Competition team in East Palo Alto that I co-founded and will be going to college to study aerospace engineering.
My involvement in robotics helped me realize that I wanted to become an engineer and I have learned so much in those eight years. I am so very grateful for everyone who has supported me for all of these years and my robotics mentors who have taught me so much and helped me grow. My goal is to earn my master's degree in aerospace engineering in 5 years and a minor in computer science. I plan on coming back after I graduate to mentor the team and will be visiting whenever I am in town.
Please pray with us for our alumni attending college, that God would provide for their academic, financial, spiritual and emotional needs. We pray that they would continue to discover how deep God’s love for them is, that they would develop as leaders, and that they would be equipped for their future careers.