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PCF eNews
Summer 2016
CONGRATULATIONS 2016 GRADUATES!
PCF’s 10th Awards Ceremony
On June 16th at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, PCF hosted its annual Awards Ceremony. The Awards
Ceremony is a time to celebrate our graduating seniors and their families, and welcome our incoming
freshmen to the PCF family. We are pleased that this year was our largest class ever, 21 incoming
scholars! This could not have been done without the continued support of friends of PCF like you. We
also celebrated the success of 11 PCF graduates. Please enjoy a couple of photos from that night.
(Pictured: Our 21 incoming scholars.)
Listed here (in alphabetical order) are our incoming scholars, the high schools where they recently
graduated and the colleges/universities they will attend this fall:
• Elias Acosta Mendoza, Summit High School, Santa
Clara University
• Cesar Avalos Diaz, EPA Academy, UC Merced
• Martha Avila Zavala, Palo Alto High School, Whittier
• Dalia Barrientos, Sequoia High School, University of
San Francisco
• Jose Corado, Woodside High School, UC Riverside
• Jennifer Cuevas, Woodside High School, Santa
Clara University
• Luis Del Rosario, Sequoia High School, San Jose
State University
• Elisa Guizar Chavez, Sequoia High School, UC
Riverside
• Angel Hernandez Mora, Sequoia High School, San Jose
State University
• Abigail Lopez Ramirez, Sequoia High School, UC Santa
Barbara
• Lupe Maafu, EPA Academy, UC Davis
• Melissa Olvera, Sequoia High School, University of
Redlands
• Sharon Onitveros Cuevas, Menlo Atherton High
School, University of San Francisco
• Cristal Ortiz-Valencia, Palo Alto High School, Chico
State University
• Gabriela Perez, Aspire Phoenix, UC Riverside
• Destiny Rivers, Eastside Prep, CSU East Bay
• Ana Trevino, Hillsdale High School, UC Santa Cruz
• Rosalia Valencia, Sequoia High School, UC Merced
• Francisco Valencia Arroyo, Half Moon Bay High
School, Sacramento State
• Samuel Vasquez, Palo Alto High School, San Francisco
State University
• Lyla Washaha, Carlmont High School, UC Santa
Barbara
Congratulations to all our new 2016 Incoming Scholars!
Javier Guzman, San Jose State University graduate, addresses guests
at the PCF Awards Ceremony
Javier came to the United States as a 12 year old. He spoke no English
when he entered school in 7th grade. It took Javier some time to acclimate
to his new environment. When he entered high school, he ”made a poor
decision to get involved with gangs.” One day, after getting in a fight, he went
home with a bruised body and face. His mom took one look at him and told
him that she didn't bring him to the United States for this. He realized she
was right and began to turn his life around. One of his English teachers later
pulled him aside and told him that she thought he could go to college. He
began to concentrate on his studies which led to his acceptance at San Jose
State. When he applied to PCF, Javier thought that no one would give him
“free money” because of his gang activity. The PCF selection team instead
focused on Javier's ability to overcome adversity along with his academic efforts and community involvement
activities. PCF accepted him into the program and provided him with the help and support he needed to
graduate, magna cum laude, with a major in Justice Studies and a minor in Sociology. His dream one day is to
work as a police officer with the hope of becoming an FBI or DEA agent.
Karina Macias, who graduated from St. Mary’s College with a degree in
Communications, spoke to the crowd at the PCF Awards Ceremony
Karina opened her comments by quoting an ancient African proverb which
states, “It takes a village to raise a child”. She then reflected on the proverb
saying, “Whoever said this probably didn’t have college in mind. Nowadays,
for kids like me, it takes an entire town, five organizations, countless friends,
mentors, supporters and a set of out-of-this-world parents to raise a child
and get them through college!” Karina was born in Apatzingan, Michoacan,
Mexico. Her mother skipped meals so that Karina and her brother could eat.
On one occasion, her mom pawned a gold necklace just so she could buy
an ice cream cone for her kids. Her parents decided to make the trip North
to find a better life for their kids. Karina attended high school at East Side
College Prep and for the first time ever had a desk to work on. Following
high school, she was accepted at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. Staying in
college became a much harder task than getting in. Because Karina’s main goal was to make sure that her
parents didn’t have to pay a dime for her college education, she worked all through school, lived at home for a
semester commuting from East Palo Alto to Moraga and ended her senior year working 25-30 hours a week with
a full course load. She concluded her comments by thanking PCF for the support provided by her mentor, Jaya,
PCF's Director of Internship Program Services, Denise Villamil, and PCF’s Founder, Charles Schmuck. Together,
they were her "goto" team to lean on whenever she had questions or needed help. This summer, Karina starts a
year-long internship as part of Genentech’s University Talent Acquisition team.
Dr. Janett Jackson, PhD., Chancellor at the Chabot-Las Positas
Community College District, keynotes the PCF Awards Ceremony
Dr. Jackson spoke about her life dedicated to service and learning. She
served in the Army for thirty years, did two tours of duty in Iraq and retired
as a Colonel. During her time in the Army, she attended the University of
Texas in Austin, receiving her Ph.D. in Educational Administration in 2001.
She told the students to take advantage of every opportunity that came their
way, not to fear taking risks or failing, that all of those experiences will make
them grow – and as an aside, even when you are older, you can still change
your career. She wished the incoming students the best and congratulated
the graduates.
The 2016 graduating seniors, with founder Charles Schmuck and CEO Phillip Powell, were
celebrated at the PCF Awards Ceremony
The 2016 graduates are (in alphabetical order):
• Yxenia Contreras, B.S. Environmental Science, Minor
in Spanish, UC Santa Barbara
• Alexandra Cota, B.A. Sociology, Minors in Education
and Art Therapy, Notre Dame de Namur University
• Cristian Diaz, B.S. Human Biology, UC Merced
• Martin Esquivias, B.A. Business Management
Economics, UC Santa Cruz
• Katherine Garcia, B.S. Biochemistry, Loyola
Marymount University
• Javier Guzman, B.S. Justice Studies, Minor in
Sociology, San Jose State University
• Yaritza Lara Alvarez, B. A. Psychology, Minors in Art
and Sociology, Notre Dame de Namur University
• Diana Lopez Solorzano, B.A. International Relations,
foreign policy emphasis, Minors in Spanish and
Communications, UC Davis
• Karina Macias, B.A. Communications, Saint Mary’s
College of California
• Eric Ramirez, B.A. Multimedia Productions, CSU
Northridge
• Sefora Rios, B.S. Health Science, Minor in Mexican
American Studies, San Jose State University
PCF Community Luncheon, Thursday, October 27, 11:30-1:30
Please save the date of PCF’s Community Luncheon on Thursday,
October 27th 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at the Sharon Heights Golf &
Country Club 2900 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025. More
information will be forthcoming.
PCF Welcomes New Program Coordinator
We are pleased to introduce Joel Yap, who has been hired as our
new (part-time) Program Coordinator. Joel grew up in South San
Jose, CA. As the first in his family to attend college, he developed
an interest in the structural inequalities in education and a desire
to give back to his community. His past work includes recruiting
and retaining students of color in higher education, peer advising,
and teaching English in rural China as a Gilman Scholar.After
receiving a B.A. in Sociology from UC Berkeley, he launched a
literacy intervention program at an under-resourced school as an
AmeriCorps member in Milpitas for 46 at-risk youth and 70
volunteers. Joel is thrilled to join PCF for its commitment to
demystifying higher education, advancing equity, and empowering
first-generation college students.
PCF Featured on NBC’s Bay Area Proud
On June 21st PCF was featured on NBC’s Garvin Thomas of Bay
Area Proud. The segment was entitled: “Former High School
Teacher's Scholarship Program Helps 150th Low-Income Student
Reach College.” Please take a moment to view this touching
video. CLICK HERE
L I N K
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Phone: (650) 779-5000