Roughly one-third of all college students in the United States are first-generation, meaning they are the first in their family to ever go to college. That’s according to FirstGen Forward, an organization that empowers first-generation students.

“Even if your story, you feel like it’s over, it’s not. You can always rewrite it,” said Sajanah King, a scholarship recipient.

King delivered a speech on Saturday at the San Diego Zoo as part of The San Diego Foundation’s (SDF) scholarship annual event. King recently graduated from Lincoln High School, and plans to attend Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland to study behavioral psychology.

“I’m really ready to go if I’m being honest, I’m excited. But I also get nervous some days but I know I have a support system. I’ll be alright and I have a plan, so I know my journey’s going to go great. I know there’s people out there rooting for me. So I’m just going to think positive and I’ll be alright,” said King.

The San Diego Foundation is a regional community foundation that has been around for decades. The organization’s Community Scholarship Program was established in 1997. Since its inception, the program has doled out more than $59 million to more than 15,4000 students. SDF also happens to be the largest non-university scholarship funder in San Diego County.

For the 2025-2026 season, SDF broke its own record — awarding $5.5 million in scholarships to about 1,300 students.

“A scholarship can change someone’s life trajectory. It gives them those funds where they don’t have to seek student loans. But it’s also a vote of confidence in their future, that there are people who believe in their capacity to learn, grow and become future changemakers,” said Mark Stuart, President and CEO of SDF.

King’s mentor, Tamara Muhammad, is the President of the Young and Prosperous Foundation. She acknowledges that it takes a village to raise a child. However, she also said that King’ success is something that she cultivated for herself through sheer will and determination.

“The stigma is that nothing good comes out of Lincoln High School, but I’m here to tell you, I’m a proud graduate of Lincoln High School, she is a proud graduate of Lincoln High School, and we are here making waves in the world,” said Muhammad.