Our Cap & Gown fundraiser last week was a huge success and we couldn’t have done it without you – our supporters, volunteers, board members, students, staff, and parents.

Because of your generosity we were able to raise more than $105,650 through our live auction and fund-a-need and almost $350,000 overall. Your donations will go a long way towards ensuring that First Graduate® continues to grow and helps more students in San Francisco become the first in their families to graduate from college.

Thank you all for coming!

 

If you want to see additional photos from Cap & Gown 2016, or download a hi-resolution copy for yourself, please visit our flickr page.

Cap & Gown At A Glance

In case you missed Cap & Gown, here are our newest college graduates…

First Graduate® gives people like me the opportunity to go to college. I consider myself driven and diversely talented; however, because of my background I had no stable direction for what I was going to do in the future and First Graduate® helped me figure that out.

Being the first of my family going to college has filled my family with joy. I also became a role model for my younger family members.

Going to college has changed my family’s direction to one of unlimited possibilities rather than a path to destruction. My family now has someone who can shift the next generations on the path to college rather than just the limited sources from living in poverty, prison cells or the grave yard. The mindset about college is now different, my cousins are now applying and putting themselves in position to go and finish.

First Graduate® helped me get an internship with UCSF one summer in high school. I remember that it was one of the best internship opportunities that I have ever had and that experience got me interested in a career in the medical field.

Coming to college has definitely made my extended family more receptive to out of state colleges. My parents have always been my biggest supporters and I know everyday they are more and more proud of me and that pushes me to continue to work hard.

With my degree in biology, I would like to do in-depth research, get involved with science education, and/or work in the medical field. My biggest goal is to attend medical school and gain a career in the medical field, possibly as a pediatrician. I would definitely love working in a field that promotes healthy living and has efforts to finding solutions for specific health conditions.

My entire family has been impacted in the most positive way. They are part of my success today. They will always be my back bone.  My sister is in next!

First Graduate® has helped me in so many ways. One being granting me scholarships through my four years at Cal State Northridge. Having this financial support with First Graduate® gave me an opportunity to focus more on my classes and graduate.

Ironically, even though I’m a business major I don’t think I’m going to end up working in the business world. This past year I have been going through the San Francisco Police Department and California Highway Patrol hiring process, in hopes of one day becoming an officer. I want to become an officer because I want to help others, and my degree will help me further my career in the future.

Initially, I was very homesick. It made it difficult for me to concentrate in class and my grades suffered. The transition was difficult, but it was the first challenge I was able to make it through without my friends and family. I grew independent and confident enough to make my own decisions. I can now say I completely rely on only myself and am brave enough to go after what I want, no matter how difficult it may be.

Ever since Middle School, First Graduate® has provided me with great resources to help me succeed, from tutoring with homework to helping me apply for scholarships and to college. First Graduate® also helped to develop me professionally with resume, interview and networking workshops.

I want to work alongside indigenous communities as an ally in order to dismantle the injustices that many of them face. My work will most likely focus on indigenous education to ensure that schools are efficiently promoting the retention of identity and language. Lastly, I want to promote intercultural-based curriculum in schools so that mestizo children are also able to explore more of the indigenous identity in their backgrounds.

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The toughest challenge I encountered was in learning how to be more independent. Sure, I had support from friends and First Graduate® but the thing about college is that you’re not forced to do anything. I had to make a decision every day to go to class, go to bed on time, and eat proper meals.

First Graduate® gave me the opportunity to have options when it came to applying to college. This program guided me in the right direction by providing me with college tours, SAT prep, resume building, and college applications. If it was not for FG’s support throughout the entire process, I would have not been aware of the various opportunities I have experienced thus far in becoming a Nurse.

First Graduate® has done so much for me. It’s kind of hard to pinpoint just one. I think having an adviser to work with me individually on college applications made the biggest difference. I still remember when Ann and I were looking at the map at FG and found Simmons!

I hope to go into low-income communities and teach those residents about resources that are available to them to help improve their living situation. Also, I want to be able to help make a difference with how accessible healthy food are to these communities. I would also like to experience working in a Hospital and impacting lives in that way.

Going and soon graduating from college means so much to my family. It is a representation of all the handwork my parents have put in to give my sister and I as many opportunities and they could. It is also a clear example of how long-term goals can be achieved through constant determination and self-improvement. My college experience will hopefully inspire my younger cousins and other family members to go after their dreams too.