Hello! My name is Ricky and I am an 11th grader at KIPP Esperanza High School in East Palo Alto. Recently, I was awarded a scholarship to participate in CIEE’s Spanish Language & Culture program in Barcelona, Spain this summer. This scholarship, however, does not include the required $740 deposit and the $1500 roundtrip flight. I am fundraising to be able to cover the deposit and half of the airfare. I plan on saving the money I earn working part-time at the Atherton library to pay for the other half of the plane tickets.

This opportunity is an experience that will not only help establish a strong foundation in my professional goals but also something that will quite literally change my life. Growing up in East Palo Alto, California, in a low-income household, I realized that opportunities like these are often inaccessible to those with my upbringing. In complete honesty, it wasn’t until recently that I realized that my lack of extracurricular experience wasn’t normal. Also, I have learned a lot about how experiences like this are often inaccessible to youth of color because of the profound impact that it can have on us.

On a personal level, going abroad and gaining a new perspective through my programs of interest would help me turn my dream of being the first to attend a four-year university into a reality. In doing this, I hope to inspire my siblings to also set their minds to attend college. Furthermore, I hope that by being brave and studying abroad, I can show my little brother and sister how to step out of their comfort zone and pursue their dreams, which can hopefully lead to a new trend in my family in which going to college becomes a tradition.

Lastly, given that nobody in my family has gone to college, I have nobody to show me the ropes on how to tackle new environments, how to overcome a change in culture and how to integrate myself into a new place with new people. By studying abroad while I’m in high school, I will learn life skills such as socializing with strangers, advocating for myself when necessary (even though it might be intimidating to do so in a new and foreign country) and also how to learn to call a new place home.

Thank you to all of you who have already donated! I have successfully fundraised enough to pay for the trip deposit and am now working to fundraise towards the airplane ticket to get me to/from Barcelona. Any amount is appreciated!