2015-2016 Cohort

Hi! Welcome to Elevate Tutoring. My name is Francisco Gutierrez Ramirez, I am currently a sophomore studying Public Health Science at Santa Clara University. I was born in San Jose, CA and my parents are from Mexico. Growing up was filled with many obstacles that kept whispering to me that it was okay to stay where I was at, they kept telling me this is who you are, and this is who you will be. It was very tempting to conform to these thoughts. These thoughts made me feel comfortable where I was at, I didn’t feel like I was letting anyone down. Despite these obstacles, I was blessed in that I had people who believed in me and all they were asking of me was to simply give it a try. At the time, I didn’t understand why. Why me? It could have easily been anybody else. It turns out, all I needed was someone to believe in me, because now I felt like I had purpose, I felt like I would be letting someone down. My goal as an Elevate tutor is to be able to show even if it’s only one kid that he doesn’t have to be smart, special or even lucky, he just needs to try, and I will show him that by believing in him just like people believed in me.

Hello everyone! My name is Jesus Fernandez and I am currently a junior at Santa Clara University, majoring in Communication Studies. I am from Morgan Hill, California and the eldest of three siblings. As a first generation college student, I take great pride in leading by example and hoping to become a credible role model that younger generations can look up to. I am very grateful for the opportunity Elevate Tutoring has given me to continue to develop my tutoring and mentoring aspirations. Giving back to the community is something that has always been a value to me personally and I look forward to contributing to the Elevate Program. Growing up in a lower socio-economic household has presented me with many challenges, but as I continue to learn more about society and continue to advance academically, I see more of the importance in contributing to one’s community.

Greetings! My name is Lindsey Sepulveda and I am a student at Mission College and I hope to transfer to UC Davis to study Animal Sciences and Management and eventually go to Veterinary School. My educational path has not been similar to the path as many of my peers. After high school I received a scholarship to go on a bridge year to Ecuador and since then I have been hooked on traveling. I have seen some of the poorest and the richest communities and I feel that it is my duty as a global citizen to help close the gap of this wealth inequality through education. With Elevate Tutoring I am able to give back to my community and influence students who come from a similar background as my own. I come from an immigrant family with little education. If I had not found similar resources to Elevate Tutoring throughout school, I would not be where I am today. I want to pay it forward and help others believe in themselves like so many tutors and advisors did for me as I was growing up.

My name is Marlene Cerritos-Rivas and I am a sophomore at Santa Clara University majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry and Public Health. I was born in San Vicente, El Salvador. I came to the United States at the age of nine, having to learn a new language while at the same time keeping up with my peers was very challenging to me. My future goals involve becoming a surgeon and building clinics abroad in rural areas where medical treatments are not accessible to those who are underserved. Elevate tutoring has allowed me to understand and stay in touch with my dreams. My dream becomes alive every time I tutor a student because I am helping someone else not give up and giving them the tools to succeed.