Hello, My name is Angela G. I am 14 years old and I am a 9th grader at The Preuss School UCSD. I love playing sports, and spending time with my family and my pets. I have a strong passion for animals and medicine. I hope to get into UC Davis so I can become a veterinarian. I also seek to travel and help animals from all over the world. Another thing I would like to do in the future is help other low-income students by giving back to my community. Access Youth Academy has helped me meet new people and find a new passion that I hope I can use in my career. Without them I wouldn’t have so many cherished friendships.

Hello, I am Demmie D., and I am a freshman at The Preuss School UCSD. On my free time I like to read, play my guitar, write, make new friends, and try thrilling activities. I enjoy reading everything from thrillers to comedy romance. I enjoy writing anything from poetry to full-on stories. I am very friendly and interested in people’s different perspectives on different issues. Some thrilling activities I am interested in doing are skydiving, bungee jumping and ziplining through the Bootleg Canyon. One of my goals is to be able to attend a 4-year college, such as NYU or UCSD, then go into the medical field as a pediatrician because I really enjoy spending time with kids a well as learning about the human body.

Hello my name is Rahel C. and I attend the Preuss School UCSD. I have been a part of Access Youth Academy for two years. I was born in Ethiopia, Africa and I came to the United States in 2008. I live with my mom and two brothers. I am now 14 years old and I am in the 9th grade. In the future, I aspire to become a neurosurgeon and I believe that with the support from Access I can reach that goal and many others as well.

Greetings! My name is Richard M. I have been with Access Youth Academy for over two years. I will be the first in my family to go to a 4-year university to pursue my dream so others in the low-income community can follow my footsteps and pursue their dreams. Access has provided me with many opportunities such as: scholarships, the ability to play squash, and most of all a family to be with in the darkest times. Access is not just a program where students come to do work and hopefully get into a university, it’s more than that. It gives you a family to be with the whole way so you have support to keep pushing me on. This is what Access is and how it can affects someone’s life.

Hello my name is Gicel A. I am a freshman at the Preuss School UCSD. I joined Access Youth Academy in the 8th grade. I heard about AYA when Renato came to Preuss and told us about the sport and how Access could help me reach my future goals. I thought that squash was a very interesting sport and I wanted to try out. On my spare time I enjoy playing chess, being with friends and family, and listening to music. In terms of school, I am interested in the STEM field which includes Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. In the future, the universities I would like to attend to are MIT or Stanford. I want to be anything that includes engineering such as Civil Engineering. I think that Access Youth Academy will help me achieve my goals and be reach my full potential.

Hello, my name is Diana M. and I am freshman in the Preuss School UCSD. I joined Access Youth Academy when I was in 8th grade. I was persuaded to join by friends and I’m glad they did. At that time I don’t know anything about squash and its goals. Learning about this program was one of the best things that have ever happened to me. I was hooked, so I tried out. One phone call later and I found out I was in. Ever since, I have flourished from not being able to recognize what I wanted to do with my life, to working towards my goal of going to medical school to be a surgeon. Everyday I work hard and train as much as I can in squash. One of my goals is to become a neurosurgeon and even become chief of surgery one day. To do so, I plan to attend UCSD for my undergrad, then attend Columbia University’s medical school. After many years of being at a crossroads with my personal beliefs, my personal relationships, my life choices, goals, and overall my journey to overall acceptance of myself, I now know that Access Youth Academy will lead me down the right path.

Hello, my name is Quang V. and I am currently a freshman at the Preuss School UCSD. Some hobbies I enjoy are running, surfing the internet, and playing squash. My current goal is to get accepted to a four year college which I hope would be UCLA or UC Berkeley. From there, I would choose a major in the STEM field, perhaps computer engineering since my favorites subjects are math and science. I am also part of the Robotics Club at my school which increased my interest in the subject. Access Youth Academy will definitely help me reach my goals and help me become successful in the future.

Hi, my name is Emely R. I am fourteen years old and I am currently a freshman at The Preuss School UCSD. This is my third year in Access and I am glad that the staff will be here to support me throughout my journey in high school. During my free time I am usually found indulging in a book. Reading has become a true passion of mine. I love getting lost in a different world away from the problems in society. My goals for the future are to get admitted into an Ivy League institution like Princeton or Harvard. I hope to pursue a career in the engineering field.