San Diego Gas and Electric recently hosted a ceremony to honor 150 rising seniors on their way to becoming first-generation college students. This concludes their three-week Summer Boot Camp with First Gen Scholars. The Summer Boot Camp included students from 12 different high schools; this year funding for the program was made possible by San Diego Unified School District. Students spent the summer connecting with their peers, learning from mentors and professionals in a variety of fields and preparing for application season.
Founder of First Gen Scholars, Jonathan Burgos, spoke to the audience, “We as a community need to acknowledge progress but also be active in it. While a college degree is not a requirement of success, when I look at the data and a projection of the future of San Diego, more than nine out of ten of the highest paying jobs require a college degree.” First Gen Scholars is an example of a powerful ripple effect that one student’s triumph will lead to them supporting many more, “It starts with us, it starts with you, and it starts with one.”
The program assists students with college applications, offers scholarship support and fosters a community that scholars can depend on. Their mission is to support underserved and underrepresented first gens during the application process and through a prosperous career. Latinx, Black, and Southeast Asian students make up a few of the many diverse cohorts that have participated in the program.
First Gen Scholars also boasts a 96% University of California (UC) acceptance rate, with 8 of out of 10 students on track to graduate with no debt. The admiration and love that the students feel for their peers and mentors was palpable, showing the reinforcement of support they have created which will carry them through their journey. Since 2019, First Gen Scholars have amplified the stories of over 500 students from 48 different high schools.
Kazeem Omidiji, Director of Community Relations at SDG&E, addressed the students from his own personal perspective as a the first-generation college graduate in his family, “It takes a village to really make a difference, and the connections you have made in this program are those in your village, helping you to succeed and excel to your next phase… Believe in yourself, believe that you have what it takes to succeed in this community, you would not be here otherwise.”
Investing in the work of First Gen Scholars amplifies SDG&E’s values of diversifying our future workforce and championing all people. As a testament to the organization’s effectiveness, half of the winners of SDG&E’s 2023 Inspiring Future Leaders STEM Scholarship program* are alumni of the First Gen Scholars program. We applaud the dedication of all the first-generation students throughout San Diego striving toward higher education.
*Scholarship winners are independently reviewed and selected by Scholarship America based on criteria set by SDG&E. SDG&E does not take part in the review or selection process.
