- Glow Scholar Year: 2009
- College: UC Santa Cruz
- Year in College: 1st Year
- Intended Major: Computer Engineering
- Date Posted: 2010-01-22
- Estimated Cost of College: $28000
- Funding Required By: 2010-06-30
“I grew up in East Palo Alto, a community that is infested with gangs, drugs, and violence. Pursuing a higher education is my ticket out of an environment that pulls young people down and stops them from reaching their goals. I want to attend college because I will also be the first one in my family and it will make my parents proud of me; I will also be proud of myself. I want to major in computer engineering so that I can work with influential organizations like NASA or Apple. I also want to start a computer engineering business of my own through which I could help the community by providing jobs and starting internships for youth interested in technology.”
Jose plans to leverage his mathematics skills into an Information Technology career. He was concurrently enrolled in geometry, and then algebra 2 as a 10th grader, during which time he exceeded a 4.0 GPA. Because of his math ability, Jose was selected to participate in the SMASH (Summer Math and Science Honors) Academy, hosted by the Level Playing Field Institute on the UC Berkeley campus, for 3 years. After graduation, Jose plans to pursue the computer engineering profession.
Jose received college counseling and academic support while he studied advanced topics in math and science on a college campus. SMASH is a highly selective program, and Jose is one of only a handful of participants from East Palo Alto HS. In EPAA, an Early College High School, students can earn college credit while still enrolled in high school, and Jose completed three college courses and has earned 8 units. Jose also was active in Varsity Basketball, and Mid Peninsula Media Center, where he helped edit videos, record interviews, and make his own videos.
