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When she opened the letter from Mills College, ARISE senior Ana Cristina couldn’t quite believe what she read. “I didn’t know if I’d really been accepted,” she remembers. “I really never thought I’d be in that place. I saw myself going to college, but I didn’t know how I was going to get there.”Arise Seniors Ana Cristina and MiguelArise Seniors Ana Cristina and MiguelTo be certain, she brought the letter to Co-Principal Romeo Garcia, who confirmed its message: Ana Cristina was in. “He was really proud, and I was really happy because it was my first one.”
It would not be the only one. Two weeks later came the letter from St. Mary’s College. “[After Mills], I didn’t tell a lot of people,” she says. “I didn’t want to be like ‘Oh I got accepted,’ and brag about it. But [my classmates] all got mad, saying, ‘You’re supposed to tell us!’ So this time, I texted everybody.”
Ana Cristina’s acceptance letters are part of a college-going momentum that’s been building all year at ARISE. Entering the fall, every senior knew they had the chance to be the first in their families to attend college. And now, with the letters rolling in, it’s quickly becoming a reality: Every student who’s applied has been accepted by at least one school. (See ARISE Seniors' College Acceptance List)
While Ana Cristina has been at ARISE since 9th grade, fellow senior Miguel’s path to graduation was a winding one. “For me it’s been a tough road,” he reflects. “I’ve been to four different high schools, and lived in Chicago for a year and a half. But when I came to ARISE [in his junior year], I started getting on track. Now college is a reality. Now I see it as something I need to do.”
“It’s a Tight Community”
Exposure to other schools has given Miguel a unique appreciation for the culture at ARISE. “It’s a smaller environment, and that really helps you learn,” he explains. “I’ve been to a school with 3,000 students, where it’s really hard to have the sort of collaboration and atmosphere [we have at ARISE].”
“It’s a tight community,” adds Ana Cristina, “and the teachers are always supporting us, giving us resources and opportunities.”
Among those opportunities are the “Proficiency” projects (in the areas of literary analysis, math, science, history, and artistic expression) that juniors and seniors display before a panel of staff and community volunteers.
“I think it’s really good we have Proficiencies here,” says Ana. “When you research and write a 10-15 page paper, then present it to a panel, that’s really preparing you for college classes.” What’s more, ARISE encourages every student to take courses on college campuses: Ana Cristina has done so two years running, receiving straight A’s in all five community college courses she took, from Perspectives on American Racism and English 201B to Pre-Calculus and Illustration.
”We’re really serious about [college prep],” says Co-Principal Laura Flaxman, explaining how ARISE’s program goes far beyond the standard A-G requirements. “It’s harder to graduate from ARISE than from any other Oakland high school.”
The seniors appreciate the high expectations and rigorous preparation, and understand what’s at stake as they sit on the brink of being the first ARISE students to graduate and the first in their families to attend college. “A lot of chances don’t come two times,” says Miguel, who hopes to attend St. Mary’s in the fall. “Sometimes you have just one chance and you have to take advantage of it.”
“It’s cool because we’re going to be the first ones and everybody’s going to remember us,” says Ana Cristina. “I’m proud to be in the first graduating class because I think I have set an example for other people to follow.”
“I still remember my first day of school when I was five years old, and I’ve been through a lot since then,” reflects Miguel. “I’m going to be the first in my family to go, and I’m really excited that this long journey is finally paying off.”
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