Partnership with Rural Schools

Partnership with Rural Schools

A partnership with Riverdale 

Riverdale is a small rural town (30 miles south of Fresno) with a 70% Latino population of 3,000. It has one high school with a graduating class of about 100 students. One student, Eduardo Gonzalez, attended the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program in 2020; inspired, he established the Medical Outreach Club at Riverdale high school.

College-bound Riverdale high school students receive laptops

In 2021, the club grew to 20 members. The Access to Achievement Foundation provided zoom seminars on college admissions, conducted mock interviews for scholarship applicants, and provided detailed feedback on UC and private college applications. Graduates that were a part of this club became highly successful—they are now attending seven different four-year universities, with two students on full scholarships at UC Berkeley.

None of the students had laptops. Twenty computers were delivered in-person at the end of the school year. The Medical Club now has an Ambassadors Club where graduates from Riverdale can mentor current students. In addition, partnerships have been created with Latino student leaders at Mi Mentor and Central Valley Scholars to guide Riverdale students, especially those who are science majors and planning on entering health professions.

Students celebrate new laptops with their parents and faculty

Student comments

“By granting a computer not to just a few but to ALL students who have been admitted to college and who submitted an application aided us all financially. You allowed us to take one step closer to achieving our wildest ambitions and suddenly they don’t feel as impossible anymore. I am eternally grateful.”

– Lourdes, UC Regents and Chancellor’s Scholar, Bill Gates Millennium Scholar, attending Berkeley on full scholarship

“We thank Access to Achievement for its generosity. Coming from a town where the number of cows overpopulate the number of people, it can be arduous to find your voice or feel like you can make a difference in the world.” 

– Rosa, attending Simpson University Nursing School on full scholarship
Riverdale Graduation 2022: twenty-four students receive $1,000 scholarships for laptops

“The positive influence that the Access to Achievement Education Foundation is grander that I alone can describe. To award all 20 of us this school scholarship is beyond generous. You have leveled out another burden for so many of us. Thank you is a bit of an understatement.” (Anisa, Full scholarship Berkeley).

– Anisa, attending Berkeley on full scholarship

“On behalf of the 20 students receiving this award, we greatly appreciate being able to share our story with you. Not only will we be receiving a laptop, but a lesson. This lesson being that our story matters. We owe this epiphany to you all.”

– Eduardo, attending Fresno State Honor’s College on full scholarship