WIMAUMA, Fla. — For many children of low-come immigrants, the idea of getting a higher education after graduating high school is simply out of the question, but there’s a local program that’s trying to change that.
“I met Neftali back in fifth grade. They partnered me – somebody that didn’t know English – with somebody that did know English and also Spanish. So, it was kind of like a forced relationship at first,” Edgar Murillo said about one of his best friends, Neftali Gomez. Edgar was born in Matamoros, Mexico.
For many students like Murillo and Gomez from Wimauma, going to college after graduating is unfathomable.
“They have to provide for their families. You know, a lot of them have big families that they probably have to provide for. The path after high school, if they even graduate, is to go straight to work,” said Gomez.
Murillo is studying computer science at Tufts University in the Boston area, and Gomez is studying neuroscience at Middlebury College in Vermont.
Both received full rides to college thanks to a local program that mentors and helps low-income students that have the potential to go far in life.
“The Berkeley Academy is a six-year college access program that is funded and supported entirely by the Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa,” said Mario Ortiz with the Berkeley Academy.
The aim of the program is to prepare first-generation and low-income students for college from an early age.
Students from five different middle schools in the Tampa Bay area apply for the program while in the sixth grade, and Wimauma Academy is one of the schools feeding into the program.
“Our school is K-8 charter school, and we serve primarily migrant, farm worker families that are in this area. So, we are 100% Latino,” said Mark Haggett, principal of Wimauma Academy.
Alexander and Sarah attend Wimauma Academy and recently got into the Berkeley Academy program. They have big dreams. Alex wants to be a civil engineer when he grows up, and Sara wants to be a lawyer.
They’re already receiving mentorship to put them on the right track to achieving their dreams. Alex said their mentors are very helpful in guiding them.
“Because they kind of, like, understand how you need that help in order to achieve what you want to be in life,” said Alex.
While in the program, students are not just given mentorship but attend free academic summer camps and enrichment programs.
“And then, the other Saturdays, we have enrichment, which are like fun activities, but also, like, we learn,” said Sara.
The program, which was started back in 2015, has about 240 students. Murillo and Gomez are a part of the first cohort that just began college, and Alexander and Sarah will follow in their footsteps in just a few years.
