(Winter 2022) – “I’ve worked really hard to make sure that mine and other communities are safe and included.”
De’Yani Dillard, SMART Class of 2022, was devoted to ensuring the wellness of her community since she was a young girl. “My heart is always in the community,” she shares. De’Yani is a witty and responsible leader and an activist. She opens her heart and knowledge to support those around her.
(Winter 2022) – Since SMART was founded in 1997, partnerships with corporations in the Bay Area have been critical to the organization’s growth. Companies like Qatalyst Partners and Sixth Street have long been dedicated to promoting educational equity in the region and supporting SMART Scholars on their journey to college.
(Winter 2022) – Daniel Montejano, a SMART Scholar and current eighth grader at Covent and Stuart Hall, is making huge strides along his journey to college. In August, Daniel was one of only 60 students across the United States to be accepted into the selective Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program.
(Fall 2021) – Jazzlyn (Jazz) Morton, a SMART alumna, is loving, brave, and filled to the brim with determination. A first-generation college graduate, Jazz completed her final semester of graduate school earlier this spring, and graduated from Hampton University with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business Administration.
(Fall 2021) – “A college diploma is said to be a ticket to the middle class. But does it really work that way for students from different racial and economic backgrounds?” This was the question that guided Diego Villegas, a SMART College Scholar, in his new podcast series, sponsored by the Stupski Foundation.
(Fall 2021) – This autumn marks Haley and Junior’s fifth year working together as a SMART volunteer and Scholar. When Haley moved from New York City to San Francisco, she was eager to find an opportunity to tutor and mentor students. With a simple search on Google, Haley found SMART!
(Winter 2021) – “We are giving our community members a microphone to speak about who we are,” says SMART alumna, Cindy Dzib. “It’s really the community that keeps us going. They’re the ones applauding for us.”
As the first in her family to receive a college degree, Cindy graduated from the University of Southern California in 2015. Fascinated by the science behind communications and the study of culture, she pursued a degree in communications with a minor in communications design. After graduation, Cindy was a Fulbright Fellow in Brazil, and today, she is a communications professional at San Francisco’s Department of the Environment.
(Winter 2021) – “In my future career in medicine, I hope to teach and be an advocate for educational equality.”
Cecilia Zhou, SMART Class of 2015, just started her clinical rotations and is currently taking a deep dive into internal medicine. This SMART alumna is a second-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine pursuing a career in surgery.
(February 2021) Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect. Its worst health and economic effects have often impacted communities of color the hardest. Alongside the health pandemic, we have also witnessed with pain and concern the violence and racial inequities that continue to plague our society.
The “Stop AAPI Hate” coalition has documented nearly 3,000 acts of hate against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) people in the U.S. from the outbreak of the pandemic through the end of 2020. Here in the Bay Area we have recently seen brutal attacks against Asian American and Pacific Islander individuals. Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old Thai American, was murdered during a morning walk in his San Francisco neighborhood. A week later, a 91-year-old man was violently pushed to the ground in Oakland’s Chinatown, adding to dozens of unprovoked attacks in the area.
(Fall 2020) – When Aaliyah Perry joined SMART the summer after her 4th grade year, she was very nervous. “There were older kids around and I didn’t know anyone,” shared Aaliyah. Now reflecting back on her years at SMART, she sees a community that has supported her immensely throughout her education journey and is ready to take her own lead.
