OTAY MESA: As the grand prize winner of the Save Me a Spot in College essay contest, 12-year-old Josefina "Chepy" Vega of Otay Mesa won a $2,500 scholarship from the Campaign for College Opportunity, a nonprofit organization that aims to increase the number of Californians who attend college.
But Chepy and her mother, also named Josefina Vega, couldn't come up with the approximately $600 for them to make an overnight trip to Sacramento. She was invited to make a speech at the state Capitol in favor of legislation that would guarantee a place at a state university for every student who qualifies for admission.
So the parents and staff at her old school, Finney Elementary, raised most of the money for Chepy and her mother.
Edrick Macalaguim, who was Chepy's sixth-grade teacher at Finney until she moved on to Montgomery Middle School in July, said he announced Chepy's need at a staff meeting and put up a note in the teachers lounge. Donations came in, some as small as $2, until the school community had raised more than $450 for its former student and her mother, who has volunteered at Finney for more than a decade.
Chepy and her mother traveled to Sacramento on Tuesday, and she spoke at the Capitol steps Wednesday in front of 500 people. She then met with Secretary of Education David Long and an assemblyman about legislation.
Chepy said Macalaguim encourages all of his students to think about college. She also credited her older sister Karina for encouraging her aspirations.
"My sister always told me college is a good place to go to find out what you're going to be," Chepy said.
