1. College Pathways
Mission: To help students of all backgrounds findand navigate affordable
pathways to their educational goals
Who we are: Ian Cummings, M.A., educational leadership, Columbia University
Eduardo Peña, M.S., counseling, Fresno State University
What we do: We provide long-term, affordable,private, tutoring and college guidance
to students andfamilies of all income levels.
How it works: Clients payfor the first20 hours of services on a sliding scale that begins at $5
per hour. For most clients, all services rendered afterthe first20 hours are free.
The remaining cost of services is covered by donated funds. Wealthier clients
pay a higher fee that covers the cost of services and includes a donation to the
program.
Our clients: We are currently workingwith 15 students, two in Northern California and the rest
in northern Santa BarbaraCounty; the youngest is in 8th-grade, the oldest is in
her firstsemester atAllan Hancock College; most are immigrants or children of
immigrantswhose parents did not attend college. Here are four of them:
Tony, a12th-grader in Mendocino County, was introduced by College Pathways
to Questbridge, an organization thatconnects low-income high-achievers to
selective privatecolleges. Tony was recently named a finalistfor Questbridge’s
National College Match, which means he will be considered for admission and a
full four-year scholarship by topuniversities likeStanford and MIT.
Cynthia is a 12th-grader in Santa Maria, CA, with a 3.5 GPA which qualifiesher
for admission to 4-year colleges, but no one ever madeher takethe SAT. Don’t
worry, we’re on it.Cynthia’s going to college.
Edwin, an 11th-grader, is a recent immigrantfromEl Salvador still learning
English. When we askedhim if he liked his school experience in El Salvador, he
reported that he didn’t because “it was too dangerous.” Edwin hopes to work in
the medical field, so College Pathways introduced him to DignityHealth’s
Physician Mentoring Program andwill be helping him apply to participatein it
next summer.
As a 10th-grader atSanta Maria High, Bryant earned 4 D’sand 2 F’s.This year,
with the help of weekly sessions with aCollege Pathways tutor, he has a GPA of
3.0, including an A- in biology, which he faileda year ago.