At Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, three seniors are about to do something no one in their families has done before \u2014 head to college.<\/p>\n
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Local first-generation students head to Georgetown, Holy Cross and UPenn<\/p>\n
At Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, three seniors are about to do something no one in their families has done before \u2014 head to college.<\/p>\n
The three first-generation Americans said they were thrilled when they received their acceptance letters.<\/p>\n
Angie Tejeda admitted she didn\u2019t think she was going to be accepted to the University of Pennsylvania and was on the phone when she got the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to go through the rejection alone,\u201d Tejeda said. \u201cI opened it, I saw the confetti, and I started screaming. And then I ran out to my mom, and we just started jumping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tejeda has already set her goals for her time at the Ivy League school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope to major in business analytics and minor in real estate,\u201d Tejeda said. \u201cI hope to use both of those majors to \u2026 improve the equity in education.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily Gregorio, who is headed to the College of the Holy Cross this fall, has had a full plate during her time in high school. Along with balancing her studies, she served as the National Honor Society president, played on the soccer and volleyball teams, had a part-time job at IHOP, and interned at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the hospital, I worked at the Lombardi Cancer Center, which is where I got familiar with MRIs and CT scans,\u201d Gregorio said. \u201cI want to be a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Genesis Barrera, who plans on studying international business with a concentration in Italian at Georgetown University, said she hopes to attend law school afterward.<\/p>\n
During her time in high school, Barrera said she was proud of \u201cstarting the Future Business Leaders of America chapter at DBCR.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barrera juggled a lot and credits time management for getting it all done.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd being determined to get what you want,\u201d Barrera added.<\/p>\n
While the three students took pictures together in the lobby, school President Mark Shriver walked up and beamed with pride as he talked to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re fantastic, three wonderful young ladies,\u201d Shriver said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got incredibly bright futures ahead of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Painted on the yellow wall in the lobby at DBCR is their motto: \u201cThe school that works.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s more than a motto; Shriver pointed out students only attend school four days a week, and one of those days \u201cthey work at a white-collar job in the DMV.\u201d<\/p>\n
To attend DBCR, students must be below the poverty level. Students are only responsible for $1,500 of the yearly tuition; the rest they earn by working one day a week, and those companies pay the remainder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re making connections, learning skills and building confidence. It pays for their tuition, but it also prepares them for college in a way that\u2019s hard to match,\u201d Shriver said.<\/p>\n