Sumi draws passion and strength from her family’s resilience and history as her father grew up sharecropping in Louisiana during the 1930s, and her maternal grandparents were sent to internment camps during World War II. She attended K-12 public schools in Richmond and received her B.A. in Black Studies and Global Peace and Security from UC Santa Barbara, followed by a Master’s in Bilingual Multicultural Education from Sacramento State University. Since 2007, Sumi has been a part of UC Berkeley’s Center for Educational Partnerships. She has held various positions within the TRIO programs,...
Theresa is originally from San Antonio, TX, and attended college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she earned a BA in History & Afro-American Studies. She became heavily involved in student organizing and the efforts to address the racism her and other students of color faced in the classroom as well as in the streets of Madison, WI. It was through this experience that she became more politically conscious and committed to rooting herself in the continued work towards justice for all oppressed people. Theresa moved to Oakland over 20 years ago where she initially worked as a...
Emerald (she/her) is a proud product of Oakland public schools and the TRIO Talent Search Program. As a first-generation, low-income student, education has always been a core part of Emerald and her family’s goals. With the support of her family and mentors, she was admitted to and graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Sociology, with an emphasis in social psychology. Her work in college advising at UC Berkeley solidified her passion for supporting students from underserved communities in accessing higher education and achieving personal success. She later earned her Master’s in...
As a first-generation, low-income, daughter of Filipino immigrants, it was the support of mentors and a strong social network that helped develop Althea’s sense of belonging and allowed her to not only survive in college, but also thrive in it. Since then, she has dedicated her work towards college access and student success for historically marginalized first-generation, low-income, BIPOC students, families, and communities. Althea is passionate about empowering our youth to become advocates for themselves and is committed to supporting the growth and development of emerging first-...
Angie is a first-generation, low-income college student born and raised in Stockton. You will still catch her there at least twice a month visiting family and her cat. As a child, she did not have the opportunity to travel outside of Stockton, and she attributes her decision to attend college out-of-state to this. She jumped on a plane and moved to DC to pursue her degree in English. During her time at Georgetown, she found community in the Georgetown Scholarship Program (GSP) which supported first-generation, low-income college students. She dedicates her degree to the staff who supported...
Brian Brown is a proud first-generation college graduate and a product of UC Berkeley’s Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP), which first reached him as a student at Castlemont High School in East Oakland. That experience sparked a lifelong commitment to educational equity and access—one that would take him across continents and eventually lead him back to serve the very communities that shaped him.
Brian earned his BA in Sociology from UC Berkeley and his MA in Counseling and Guidance from San José State University. His early career took root abroad, where he spent nearly a...
Dennise immigrated to the United States at age 12 and is the proud daughter of Mexican farmworkers. Her work in education and college access is deeply rooted in her own journey as an English learner, first-generation college graduate, and undocumented Latina.
Before joining DCAC/EAOP, Dennise led a college access program serving immigrant and refugee youth in Nashville, Tennessee, and worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UC Merced. Throughout her career, she has been passionate about designing programs that recognize and build upon students' cultural wealth, lived...
As a first-generation, low-income student and oldest daughter of Iu-Mien immigrant refugee parents, Gina has always valued education and educational access as a form of self-exploration and liberation. Throughout her K-12 experience in the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) she was fortunate enough to come across mentors, educators and joined EAOP which helped guide her to UC Berkeley where she completed her B.A. in Public Health with a minor in Education. During her undergraduate experience, she explored different options, but ultimately found purpose and passion in...
Mayzia was born and raised in Sacramento, California. She is a product of first generation to college parents, who stressed the importance of education. In her early adolescence, Mayzia participated in various academic enrichment programs through school and ministries at her church. The two most notable programs that shaped Mayzia’s education journey was Academic Talent Search at Sacramento State and UC Davis’ EAOP program. Marked as one of the best decisions of her life, Mayzia attended the University of Arizona, majoring in Nutritional Sciences with an emphasis in Dietetics. It was...
Yee Leng is a first-generation college graduate from a low-income family and the son of Hmong refugees. Born and raised in Fresno, California, he went on to attend UC Berkeley, where he earned a degree in Anthropology. While the expectation to pursue higher education was always present, the pathway was far from clear. He often had to navigate the college journey alone or with peers, without the guidance or support systems. Through resilience, persistence, and trial and error, Yee Leng was successful in graduating and during his undergraduate career, discovered a personal commitment to...
