We are so lucky to have had Cecilia come into our lives. Our story begins with Cecilia renting a room from our mom, Mary Lu. She quickly became so much more as she began helping Mary Lu and truly becoming one of the brightest lights in our family.

Cecilia taught herself to speak English and began attending Community College while also working full-time and continuing to care for Mary Lu. This June, Ryan and I had the great honor of attending Cecilia's graduation from Las Positas College. She graduated with the highest honors!

She applied to several universities, including her dream, UC Davis. She was accepted into every institution for which she applied! Now, she needs support from us, her family and community, to make this dream a reality. She has worked so incredibly hard and has saved every penny she's made, but we don't want her to be burdened with worrying about how long she can afford to stay at Davis. It would break our hearts if the only thing keeping Cecilia from earning a degree from Davis were money.

Cecilia is a gift; genuinely one of those rare angels on Earth. Her intelligence, persistence and work ethic are matched only by her kindness, generosity and selflessness. She has made our family better; you will be better for knowing her. She plans to study Psychology at Davis and we're certain that this path will allow Cecilia to serve our community and to continue to make the world a better place.

Please donate what you can and show Cecilia that the American Dream is alive and well. If we reach our goal, we'll host a celebration when Cecilia graduates from UC Davis!

With Gratitude, Tami & Ryan