The Ventura County Star – Ramon Flores
“I found the biggest issue for young Latina/o students is understanding how to go about getting a college education. With parents who have no knowledge of the labyrinthine world of college and financial aid applications, students with my background struggle to understand how to get into college step-by-step. My inspiration and support came from my parents. Even though my father attended school for only one day before declaring he didn’t like it, he went on to teach himself to read, write and do math. My mother, who worked full-time, would spend her evenings at my high school in Sun Valley learning English. She was a strict taskmaster, making sure I not only got high marks, but the very best possible grades. Their examples gave me the drive to excel. I want to share that passion to succeed in STEM with other young people — especially Latina/os.”(more)