Bay Area nonprofit helps low-income, first-generation college students succeed

Karla Cisneros never imagined she would be able to attend college. She knew that her parents would not be able to afford tuition and that no one in her family had ever pursued higher education.

“Going to college was never part of my plans,” she said. “We don’t have the capacity, even if we want to, because of the financial situation. I never imagined pursuing higher education. »

Instead, the San Jose resident planned to graduate from high school and find a job to help support her low-income family and raise her two younger siblings.

Five years later, Cisneros has a bachelor’s degree in sociology, works two jobs – as a substitute teacher and program coordinator at Sacred Heart Community Services – and owns a small business creating events and floral arrangements.

“Knowing where I am right now is like a dream,” she said. “If you told me, at 13 or 14, that I would be here right now, she wouldn’t believe it. But at the same time, she would be so proud.

Cisneros was able to attend San Jose State University on a scholarship The Peninsula College Funda Bay Area nonprofit that provides low-income, first-generation college students in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties with the resources and finances needed to graduate from college and achieve their career goals.

The Peninsula College Fund hopes to raise $24,000 through Wish Book to help a student from San Mateo or Santa Clara County complete their college education. The funding would pay for the student’s tuition and books, match them with a mentor, send them to an academic and career leadership conference, and help them secure an internship to prepare for their career.

The organization began in 2005 after San Jose teacher Charles Schmuck became concerned about the high college dropout rate among low-income, first-generation youth in San Mateo County and the Mid-Peninsula region. .

According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics, six years after starting college, only 24 percent of first-generation students had earned a bachelor’s degree.

Schmuck and the Peninsula College Fund quickly realized that it wasn’t enough to help low-income and first-generation students simply get into college, said the organization’s executive director, Christina Mireles. The organization said students also face financial barriers, inequitable access to resources, bias and difficulty finding employment after graduation.

“We are not a college access organization. Our goal is academic and professional success,” Mireles said. “Over time, we found that it wasn’t enough to get students to college…There are so many challenges and barriers facing low-income and first-generation students that they really need support at college if we want them to graduate. .”

Through the Peninsula College Fund’s comprehensive services, such as providing mentors, helping students access training and workshops, and supporting them in their search for an internship, Mireles said PCF fellows who started their college students in 2017 graduated in six years at a rate of 88% – more than four times the national graduation rate for first-generation college students.

Mireles said the number of researchers accepted by the organization depends on the amount of funds the organization can raise each year. She said the Peninsula College Fund accepts between 50 and 85 students per year.

The organization also knows that the transition from high school to college poses a difficult hurdle for many first-generation and low-income students.

Cisneros said she struggled with imposter syndrome — a behavioral health phenomenon described as self-doubt about one’s intellect, skills or accomplishments — when she started at State University from San Jose. And with a recently diagnosed learning disability, Cisneros said she reached a breaking point during the last semester of her freshman year and was ready to give up.

“I was like, I can’t do this. I know my sisters and my family are counting on me, but I can’t,” she recalls.

Cisneros’ mentor, Eduardo Cortez, helped her access mental health resources and guided her through this difficult time. Cisneros said without Cortez and the Peninsula College Fund, she wouldn’t have made it.

“Just knowing that I had their support and that they believed in me always did it for me,” she said. “When I didn’t believe in myself, they did.”

The Peninsula College Fund also supports Cisneros’ younger sister, Cindy Cisneros, at the University of California, Berkeley. Cindy is a freshman pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sociology and data science.

Cindy said she never planned to go to college, but Karla and the Peninsula College Fund showed her she could.

“My older sister really solidified my decision to go to college because she did everything on her own,” Cindy said.

She said the Peninsula College Fund and her mentor, Amanda Sarkowsky, helped her grow professionally and personally and realize she had a place at UC Berkeley just like anyone else.

“My interest in school was never a problem. I just think I never really saw (people like me) in those spaces,” she said.