(Winter 2019) –Mimi Tran has been raising her four boys in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, a few blocks from SMART’s offices. The entire family has been part of the SMART community since 2005. Phong, 23, and Hao, 22, are both alumni of the program, while their two younger brothers, Dinh, 17, and Trieu, 15, (pictured) are current SMART Scholars.
(Winter 2019) – At 5:45 on a recent Monday evening, Ivayana Liggins met with Hiwan, a SMART Scholar, at a table in the corner of SMART’s main workshop space. Both are all smiles and immediately start talking quickly about the day as Hiwan unpacks her books to begin their tutoring session. “She’s just like me when I was her age,” Ivayana says, “bubbly and excited!” The roles have reversed for Ivayana. A SMART alumna herself, she’s now returned as a volunteer tutor and mentor.
(Winter 2019) – “I always wonder what my students are going to be like in college. And when they’re 30. And 50. It’s about creating opportunities that set them up for every stage, really,” notes Anthony Sabedra, current teacher at Katherine Delmar Burke School. Anthony had been teaching foreign languages, including Spanish and Italian, for the majority of his professional career, when in 2007, he began advising students in addition to instructing language courses.
(Fall 2018) – Sergio Martinez was born and raised in San Francisco’s Mission District, the neighborhood his family still calls home. His parents, Ana and Sergio Sr., emigrated from Peru and Mexico respectively, eventually settling down in San Francisco. Here, they worked to provide their son and daughters with the best education opportunities they could achieve.
(Fall 2018) –Jonathan Wang, a SMART alumnus, recently moved to his new home in Seattle, WA, where he’ll begin the next chapter of his life. A first-generation college graduate, last spring Jonathan completed his degree in Computer Science at the University of Southern California. Following his summer internship with Amazon last year, Jonathan will be returning to the company as he begins an exciting position as a software development engineer, working with the team that makes the company’s engine run.
(Fall 2018) –This past summer, two SMART Scholars jumped into their first internship with Ropes & Gray LLP, a global law firm with offices here in San Francisco. SMART and Ropes & Gray have partnered for several years, with the firm serving as the presenting sponsor at the annual event SMART Goes to College.
(Winter 2018) – Mauricio didn’t always think he was going to make it to college. He was smart, self-aware, and knew the odds he faced. He’d reviewed the statistics and the outlook didn’t look good as a member of a low-income, immigrant family, where he will be the first to graduate from college.
(Winter 2018) – For Naomi Galley and Marin Country Day School, partnering with SMART is about empowering students and providing them the best possible educational experience.
(Winter 2018) – For Becca Berry, a member of the Junior League of San Francisco, volunteering is about community and investing in the world around you in the hopes of creating positive change.
