(Fall 2019) – Vivian Do has just finished the first month of her year-long stay in Hong Kong as a Fulbright Scholar. Only 8% of applicants to this prestigious research program have been selected in recent years. The SMART alumna is currently researching the efficacy of local environmental policies on the region’s pollution emissions–no small feat.
(Fall 2019) – It was David Zavala’s longest time being away from his home in San Francisco – five weeks nearly 3,000 miles away, in New York City. The SMART Scholar spent most of his summer at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting: Teen Summer Conservatory. Beginning in July, David was immersed in an intensive acting program alongside 40 other students from across the world.
(Fall 2019) – For many students, summertime is an opportunity to take a break from the rigors of a busy school year. But for SMART Scholar, Carlos Jaramillo, this past summer was an opportunity to pursue his first internship, working with the Pacific AIDS Education & Training Center (PAETC) for UCSF’s Summer Researchers in Global Health (SRGH) program.
(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.
(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.
It’s been more than four years since Jonathan was regularly at SMART as a high school senior, exploring college options. However, he hasn’t been a stranger to the SMART family while away at school.
(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.
