The M-A Computer Academy is a program that offers academic support and mentorship to students as they fulfill graduation requirements and make post-high school plans.
The program supports students from sophomore to senior year, and this year the program has 45 graduating seniors. Over 60% of these seniors were successful in meeting college eligibility (A-G) requirements, and 16 of these seniors will be attending four-year universities in the fall, including UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and San Jose State.
Additionally, the program offers Academy Scholarships to several college-bound seniors every year. For the 2019-2020 school year, the four recipients were Elder Lopez Moreno, Jaqueline Arias Escobar, Alba Ortiz Samuy, and Jacqueline Hernandez.
Lopez, who will attend Cal Poly Pomona and major in landscape architecture, reflected: “The Academy shaped me into the person that I am today. The Academy allowed me to visit different companies in the Bay Area where I learned what it takes to get a job in those companies. This motivated me to work extra hard to attend college with the hopes of having a similar job in the future.” Moreno will be the first in his family to graduate high school and to attend college.
Arias said, “Joining the Academy is the best decision I have made in high school because of the support I received from everyone helped me become the resilient, determined, straight A student I am today. There were many times where I felt stuck academically and teachers always accommodated my needs. They also made me realize that I could turn my weaknesses into strengths.” Arias, who will pursue a Bachelor of Science in nursing at CSU Northridge, continued, “I am so passionate about going to college because no one in my family has ever graduated from high school or attended college. I want to be the first in my family to receive my bachelor’s degree or higher, break the cycle of poverty, and create a better future for myself and my loved ones.”
