Rising to meet tough challenges has been the theme for 2022. P4L staff, instructors and older student coaches have been ensuring that during the pandemic, our 150+ youth are encouraged, engaged in learning and focused on their futures. Take a look at the profiles of four exceptional P4L students.

Jeferson C.

Jeferson C. is a 7th grader at Eastern Middle School.  He is one of the most inquisitive and motivated students P4L has ever engaged.  Since 6th grade, he has plunged into multiple activities, including our STEM, youth media, and college readiness afterschool and summer programs.  He is an advanced math student, and his interests include race car design, coding, and computer programming, as well as the photography of nature and New York City street scenes. 

Jeferson talks about how his parents work long hours to support him and two younger siblings.  His mom works seven days a week and he is keenly aware that she wants him to stay in school and go to college. 

Someday, Jeferson is going to make both of his parents incredibly proud.

Cephora V. and Tanisha V.

Sisters Cephora V. and Tanisha V. are juniors at Northwood High School.  They came to the U.S. from Haiti in middle school and joined our Go2College program as 8th graders at Silver Spring International Middle School.  In high school they continued with our College Bridge program and are working as P4L Student Assistants, mentoring 8th graders who want to go to college.  As sophomores, both girls were selected for a free college support program (ACES).  They are also in a dual enrollment program that lets them to take college credit classes in high school. 

Cephora is interested in the law and medicine.  She thinks about either having her own law practice some day or working to help under-served people with healthcare access, information, and management. 

Tanisha is interested in digital art, animation, and medicine.  Her ambition is to become a cardiologist or surgeon, who also keeps up with artistic pursuits.  These two siblings are true rising stars.

Astrid T.

Astrid T. is a senior at Montgomery Blair High School.  Her parents emigrated from Cameroon in 2011, and between 2014 and 2018, they were able to bring Astrid and her five siblings to the U.S. as Cameroon slid into civil war. 

Astrid exudes confidence and positivity.  For the past 4 years she has coached students in our youth media program at Eastern Middle School.  Astrid was also in our College Bridge program and has participated in our Tech Squad workshops and summer camp for electronics-robotics-engineering. (She really likes coding and programming and wants to pursue software engineering). 

Like Cephora and Tanisha, Astrid was selected for the ACES college support program and for the past two years it has helped her prepare a clear path to college.  We can’t wait to see her graduate in the Class of 2022 and head off to earn a college degree.