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 Sequoia Adult School Scholars
        Making college a reality for adults who never considered it a possibility 
 

Sequoia Adult School Scholars (SASS) provides financial support, tutoring, and other assistance to adult students -- most working in minimum wage jobs -- so they can enroll in community college to continue their education, get jobs that pay family-sustaining wages, and serve as role models and advocates for their children.
 
SASS News
                            July  2017
Sampling for Success 2017 
SASS students' stories captured on video
With heartfelt emotion, SASS students Marta Marcos and Alejandro Avendaño recounted their personal journeys at this year's Sampling for Success, SASS's
annual fund-raising
and appreciation event that was held June 3 in Atherton. 

Marta depicted her escape from gangs in her native El Salvador and told of the day that English changed her life.
 
Alejandro recounted his ascendancy from being a high school dropout to pursuing a career as a police officer. 
 
Other speakers included SASS board president Laura Ayala, SASS executive director Elizabeth Weal, and longtime tutor and donor Deb Abel. Al Camarillo, emeritus professor of history at Stanford University, was master of ceremonies.

SASS was featured in the July issue of CLIMATE, a   
monthly publication
about Redwood City. Check out the article
here.   
 
We'd like to extend a huge THANK YOU to the close to 200 donors who have already contributed to SASS students' success this year.  If you'd like to contribute, please 
DONATE here.  

SASS needs more tutors! To find out more about the SASS tutoring program, contact us at
SASS student
Katherine Ramirez heads for
UC Berkeley

i
Katherine Ramirez came to the U.S. from Peru a few months shy of her 18 th birthday. Now, four years later, she's heading off to UC Berkeley to focus on global economic development.
Katherine Ramirez

Katherine began her education in the U.S. by taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at Sequoia Adult School. Six months later, she transferred to Cañada College where, after completing advanced ESL classes, she began pursuing her passion for math and economics. In May she graduated from  
Cañada College magna cum laude with an Associate of Science degree.
 
To cover her living expenses while in college, Katherine worked 30 hours a week at Target; tutored Cañada students in math, English, and ESL classes; and babysat in the evenings, all while taking a full course load. SASS paid for her books and, before she had a car, her bus pass.
 
"I will always remember SASS for the scholarship that helped me to get started on the path to college," Katherine says. "Because of SASS, my life was a little less difficult."
 
Sign up today for the first-ever  
SASS Conversation Club

The first-ever SASS Conversation Club will be held Friday, July 14 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Sequoia Adult School, 3247 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park. Several SASS students said they'd like more opportunities to chat with native English speakers; hence this club.  But we need your help! To participate, sign up here by July 10.  

The plan is to learn a bit about each other, laugh a lot, eat some quality snacks, and celebrate the end of the week. We're using a speed-dating model so you'll have the opportunity to talk with several students.