Paula, California

I am very blessed to have met Barbara and be a part of the AKALA program, which helped  build my confidence by introducing new opportunities and projects to me like Litterati project  that I started at Santa Monica High School. With the help of this program I became more  in tune with myself, by reflecting, doing hands-on projects and practicing my writing skills. The  AKALA team mentored me through the college process as a first generation student and helped me  apply  successfully to the Gates scholarship. The experience I gained from this program has  continued to benefit me even after high school. I currently attend UC Berkeley as a sophomore,  have engaged in individual research of my choice, and have grown as a person overall. I am  extremely grateful to AKALA, knowing that my success is a result of the luck I had to be part of  their program.