The Garnet Neighborhood in the City of Fullerton, CA is made up of five small blocks where more than 1,200 low-income children from working class immigrant families make their home. This neighborhood, in the middle of one of the wealthiest counties in the country, was marked by one startling statistic: There had been no college graduates to emerge from the Garnet Neighborhood in over a decade. By supporting students through one-on-one mentoring, academic tutoring, educational workshops, parent academy, campus visits, SAT prep, JOYA Scholars comes alongside junior high and high school students to fill a relational and knowledgeable gap for students and their families for whom the school can be a confusing and intimidating process to navigate.
With her own determination and guidance from JOYA Scholars, Valeria became the first person from her neighborhood to graduate from college in over a decade. Today, Valeria is attending law school and continues to live in the Garnet neighborhood.