Twelve year‐old Josefina Vega won a $2500 grand prize college scholarship for her essay submitted to the 2008 “Save Me a Spot in College” Contest. When her Finney Elementary School teachers heard that she had won, they began passing around a hat to raise money for her to go to Sacramento and join education and policy leaders urging lawmakers to pass SB 890 Early Commitment to College, a bill that would teach students early about how to go to college and how to pay for it. Josefina made it to Sacramento. SB 890 passed into law in September 2008. Read More

Yvette Lopez knows how to argue. Not with her parents like many teenagers – she is an award winning debater for Rancho Buena Vista High School’s Speech and Debate club where she is an 11th grader. She attributes much of her success in high school and motivation for college to the club alongside the driving force of her family. Read More

Most 8th grade students are looking for great role models to motivate and encourage them. Ana Garcia is one. An 8th grader at Villa Fundamental Intermediate, Ana Garcia feels it is her job to be a good example to her siblings and her classmates. In addition to attending to her own school work, she tutors her younger siblings. Ana will be the first in her family to attend college. She hopes that both her younger sister and brother will join her. Read More

Aubrey Hunter is a very busy guy. He plays the drums at school and church, and is involved in several clubs at school – including break dancing, DJ‐ing, and bike club. He also trained for and ran the L.A. Marathon. One might think he would not have time to think about the future. Not so. Read More

"Do you hear our pens and pencils writing fast and steady? Those are the only tools carving our paths to success and we know it," writes this hard working 10th grader at Centennial High School in Compton, Los Angeles. Read More

Following in the footsteps of other sibling filmmakers like the Cohen or Wachowski Brothers, Luis and Liliana Jimenez may be the next big thing to come out of Modesto since George Lucas. In an incredibly artistic video, the brother and sister team make a powerful statement without dialogue, they let the images and music convey the message, "Save us a Spot in College" as part of the annual Scholarship Contest by that name. Read More

"Picture yourself walking a slow and steady walk to nowhere, no place at all; that's how we feel under the drugs, crime, shootings, and deaths. My peers and I are under a rock, which is overcrowding the rose that wishes to flourish," writes Milton Grant, a young athlete committed to fighting any obstacles thrown his way. This excerpt is from his award winning essay in the 2008 "Save Me a Spot in College" Scholarship Contest. Read More

Since a young age, fifteen year old Alexandrea Sanchez had dreams of becoming a doctor. While most children played dress up with band‐aids and plastic stethoscopes, Alexandrea spent time in hospitals and doctor's offices. Read More

"I am the generation that will make tomorrow. It's me and my peers, in your footsteps we'll follow." – from Bieber student Hattie Wimer’s contest winning poem. In the 2008 "Save Me a Spot in College" Scholarship Contest, where thousands of students enter from all over the state, Hattie Wimer’s "Dream and Success" poem shone through. Read More

Who doesn’t remember the childhood game of musical chairs? Jonathan Curtiss certainly does as he and his friends begin to wonder where they’ll be headed for school. "The college admissions process is becoming more and more like a game of musical chairs... I want to succeed," this young filmmaker exclaims as he describes just one of the many challenges of the college going process. This young man has quite a bit to offer these institutions of higher learning. Read More

Jessica started her Junior at Mount Eden High School in Hayward, CA in the fall of 2008. Jessica Muñoz was inspired to write her poem in order to break stereotypes. As a Latina at a high school with significant gang activity, Jessica wants to be seen for her unique abilities, not as a criminal. She strives to be proactive in her community. Read More

In 2006, as a senior at Deer Valley High School in Antioch, Victoria Conlu won a grand prize in the "Save Me a Spot in College" Contest with an essay that exclaimed that all she needed was the opportunity to get to and finish college and she could make something of herself. Read More