Belle

Graduated Aim High: 2004
Taught at Aim High: 2007-present
Now she's: studying pre-law and social justice at Columbia University

On Aim High memories : When I was in 8th grade, we went to the Haight, a neighborhood I had never visited. I learned what the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinics were, and I bartered a rock for six free ice cream cakes!

On Aim High learning: Teachers taught lessons that they wanted to teach - so we, in turn, loved learning them.At Aim High I learned about social justice and how to fight for it. It inspired much of the activism work I have done since, and it shaped my future.

On Aim High magic: Students don't see Aim High as summer school. There's mutual respect between teachers and students, but everyone goes on a first-name basis.

Cameron

Graduated Aim High: 2001
Taught at Aim High: 2002-present
Now he's: getting a teaching credential through the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute and teaching at the Nueva School

On Aim High teaching: When I finish my undergraduate work, I plan to work toward a California teaching credential. I want to duplicate the magical experience of teaching at Aim High.

On Aim High impact: The program that comes together for just 5 weeks each summer is touching thousands of lives, in ways that they will appreciate more and more.

On Aim High magic: Aim High magic is the feeling of unity and support - like what you get when you're with family that you've known your whole life.

Adolfo

Graduated Aim High: 1989
Taught at Aim High: 1995-1997
Now he's: Worksite Organizer for SEIU Local 521; J.D. from Northern Illinois University School of Law

On Aim High learning community: I was born and raised in Nicaragua, and when I moved here in the 7th grade, I was reading at a 3rd grade level. At Aim High, I had the ability to practice my English in a supportive environment - I wasn't afraid to speak with an accent or mess up words. My Aim High experience enabled me to graduate from St. Paul's Grammar School at the highest level you could attain in English.

Ceirin

Graduated Aim High: 1998
Taught at Aim High: 2000-2008
Now he's: Loyola Marymount graduate; faculty at Lick-Wilmerding High School

On Aim High faculty: The Aim High directors do a fantastic job of hand-picking faculty members that are multidimensional and have a ton of knowledge and talent to share.

On Aim High fun: The program is so fun and the students love being there so much, it is often hard to get them to go home at the end of the day.

Ruby

Graduated Aim High: 2007
Taught at Aim High: 2008-present
Now she's: Junior at Lowell High School

Favorite Aim High memory: I always tell people how much fun I had on the overnight trip to the Marin Headlands in 9th grade. To be able to get away from the city and take a night hike in complete darkness, then to look up and actually see the millions of stars in the sky - it was a completely awesome feeling, and it's probably my fondest memory of Aim High.

Stuart

Graduated Aim High: 2001
Taught at Aim High: 5 summers
Now he's: reporting on California politics for the Wall Street Journal

On Aim High inspiration: Aim High helped spark my interest in reading and the humanities.  Before, I always thought I would be an engineer or a doctor when I was older.  But being in small classes, talking about literature, really got me thinking about writing.  I don’t think I would be doing what I’m doing if it weren’t for Aim High.

On Aim High opportunity: I used to lead a biking activity in the afternoon, and we took kids out of the city to places they’d never been before -sometimes places I’d never been before. One time a mother came up to me and said “thank you, Stu, for taking my son somewhere he’d never been.” I think that is one of the most rewarding experiences around, doing stuff with kids that they’ve never done.

Sabrina

Graduated Aim High: 2008
Volunteered at Aim High: 2009
Now she's: sophomore at San Francisco School of the Arts

On Aim High homework: In elementary school, I got away with not doing my homework because they weren’t strict about it.  In middle school, I hated homework, but at Aim High, the consequence of not doing homework is Study Hall.  You can’t go to activities.  I loved my activities, so as soon as I got home from Aim High I sat down and got my homework out of the way right away.  That helped me in middle school and high school, I got that routine down – home, homework done, play – and that helped my grades. 

On coming back for more: My uncle teases me, saying, “if you don’t clean your room, you can’t go to summer school and you can never do your homework again!”  My family laughs about how much I love being here, but I couldn’t imagine myself not being here. It's so fun.

Beatriz

Beatriz's daughter, Dulce, began Aim High in Redwood City in the summer of 2008.

Last year, I had a really hard time with Dulce. We had a bad experience in some classes, and Dulce was going to the office.  She was so shy, she wouldn’t tell me anything, but I knew she was accepting a lot on herself, and she was so depressed. She needed help and she needed an environment where they could help her.

Then she started coming to Aim High, and she was saying, “We did this!  We did that! They are helping me with math, and now I understand what I am doing!"  I was surprised, because last year, she was so down in grades, Cs ad Ds.  This year, she was so alive, going to school, learning new things.

When she heard Aim High was coming again, she said “Mami, this year, am I going to Aim High?”  And I said “Yes you are!”