Dear NGS Community,
This June, we honor Pride month by supporting our Scholars as they explore and honor their individuality. We recognize Juneteenth for its history and significance, an enduring symbol of true freedom for all, and continually encourage our Scholars to raise their voices in the name of equity and justice. And, we launch Summer Academy 2022, providing opportunities for learning and self-discovery in a safe and supportive environment, for 130 first-generation students.
This month also marks my planned departure from the organization, to embark on a new post as Head of St. Luke’s Preschool in San Francisco. In this role, my new constituency of three and four year olds are wowed by superheroes. As I reflect on my two year tenure at NGS, what stands out the most to me is the loyalty and generosity of our donors, who I consider to be NGS superheroes.
Whether a college alum landing their first job and initiating a modest monthly recurring donation to their NGS alma mater, a foundation reaffirming their annual vote of confidence in our work through a substantial grant - or every single donor in between - I am wowed by the diversity and generosity of our heroic supporter base.
As we muscle up our fundraising efforts to keep pace with the highest rate of inflation our nation has seen in 4 decades, your support continues to ensure that our families receive the services and reassurances they need and deserve. As our nation is overwhelmed with perpetual news cycles of mass shootings and gun violence, your generosity ensures an environment of increased safety and security, as well as greater access to health and wellness services for our students and families.
Thank you for always rising up, for carrying NGS through with your support, and for the opportunity to serve as Executive Director of Next Generation Scholars..
Sincerely,
Jeff Escabar
Executive Director
A Most Inspiring 2022 NGS Graduation Story
Sometimes, it’s hard to know who’s inspiring who.
As NGS parents push, encourage, and support their students to believe that college is indeed in their future, that dream has the power to permeate entire families. Such is the case with Viridiana Razo, president of our NGS Parent Committee, and mother of rising 12th grade NGS Scholar, Kiana. Viridiana has just completed her General Education Degree through Tamalpais Adult School - a major milestone, inspired by her daughter’s academic pursuits. As Kiana enters her final year in high school, her mother also sees a light, shining on her own pathway to higher education.
“ NGS has helped me a lot. Since my daughter Kiana was accepted to the program, I no longer have to worry about how she will get to university. I know that she will be able to go to university and her path there is now a little easier because she has the support of NGS and the staff. Now in my case, I plan to get my university degree. I hope to graduate and know it will not be easy because I have to jump many obstacles, but I want to achieve it because I see that Kiana is very happy when she hears me say I'm going back to college/university.”
- Viridiana Razo, NGS Parent and Parent Committee President, and proud High School Graduate, 2022
As Viridiana provides leadership alongside other parents to support NGS programs, through fundraising and campus beautification projects, she is also helping to empower other parents with leadership opportunities and educational workshops. In moments like these, it’s hard to know who’s inspiring NGS staff and donors more - our students or our parents. Congratulations, Viridiana, we are all so proud of you!
NGS mother and daughter (respectively), Viridiana (left) and Kiana (right) as they celebrate Viridiana’s completion of her General Education Degree.
School’s out for……Summer Academy, 2022!
Next Generations Scholars is excited to welcome 120 rising 6th - 12th graders, and 10 recent NGS High School graduates, on opening day of Summer Academy 2022 on June 21st. Designed to prepare them for their upcoming academic year, Summer Academy also encourages Scholars to explore new interests and passions. Our five week, full day program ensures all NGS Scholars will be prepared for success in their new grade level, while growing their minds and expanding their imaginations.
Our year-round academy scholars are joined each summer by a select group of new students. Together they build community with fellow first-generation Marin students through shared summer experiences, charting their unique pathways to college and beyond. A team of 39 passionate teachers, assistants, and interns, reflect the demographics and life experiences of our Scholars, will teach a selection of 67 courses, ranging from Microbiology to 3D Fabrication to Filmmaking.
Tailored by grade level, courses focus on three distinct areas:
Anticipatory Curriculum, to expand Scholars’ level of understanding in core academic areas including math, science, and English, in preparation for a successful start to their upcoming school year. Exploratory Curriculum, to expand Scholars’ thinking by sharing with them a diverse field of study including the arts, social justice, and technology. College Discovery, targeting rising 12th graders, focuses on college essays, test prep, and college search counseling.
The power of partnership makes Summer Academy possible. Our partnership with The Branson School, including the use of their campus and vehicles, along with our generous donors and partnering foundations, allows us to offer under-resourced first generation students this unforgettable summer of learning, adventure and self-discovery, tuition free.
2022 Summer Teaching Fellow Soy Park
NGS Anthony Veasna So English Teaching Fellowship, 2022
We are excited to Introduce our second annual Anthony So Summer English Teaching Fellow, Soy Park.When Anthony Veasna So, a published author and former NGS teacher passed away far too young in 2020, his family created an annual fund to ensure his memory would live on, through English teachers who would honor his legacy through our Summer Academy Program. Thus, the Anthony Veasna So English Teaching Fellowship was created, and we are pleased to welcome Soy this summer, who shares these words:
Anthony Veasna So
“Hello! My name is Soy, and I'm the 2022 Anthony So Fellow. I am a child of the Korean peninsula, which is surrounded on three sides by the ocean and about 70% mountains. I grew up mostly on the East Coast/unceded Lenape lands, and I am so excited and honored to be here on Coastal Miwok/Southern Pomo land learning and growing with you all. This land’s stunning combination of mountains-pine trees-ocean, as well as its beautiful way of existing with painful histories, reminds me deeply of my own ancestral lands.
In Anthony's writing, I feel seen and mirrored in the deep seeking that has driven much of my life thus far. Seeking to translate; seeking to remix; seeking to understand; and seeking confirmation--this seeking, to me, is at the core of my queer, Asian beingness. Together with my students, I will put Anthony in conversation with works from writers of other diasporas. I hope that we will each depart from our journey more inspired and fearless in our own journeys towards self-location. I am thrilled to find out what is exciting and nourishing to our students, and help them cultivate tools to explore their own brilliant minds bravely and tenderly.
Soy, a native and current resident of Philadelphia, PA, graduated from Princeton University in 2020 with a BA in East Asian Studies. Since 2014, Soy has served as a violin instructor, college advisor at Princeton, curriculum and processes instructor in Beijing, and community organizer for the Queer and Trans communities. Welcome, Soy!
Tailored by grade level, courses focus on three distinct areas:
Anticipatory Curriculum, to expand Scholars’ level of understanding in core academic areas including math, science, and English, in preparation for a successful start to their upcoming school year. Exploratory Curriculum, to expand Scholars’ thinking by sharing with them a diverse field of study including the arts, social justice, and technology. College Discovery, targeting rising 12th graders, focuses on college essays, test prep, and college search counseling.
The power of partnership makes Summer Academy possible. Our partnership with The Branson School, including the use of their campus and vehicles, along with our generous donors and partnering foundations, allows us to offer under-resourced first generation students this unforgettable summer of learning, adventure and self-discovery, tuition free.
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Independence From Hunger Fundraising Campaign.
For a second consecutive year, San Rafael Grocery Outlet has named NGS as the beneficiary of their Independence From Hunger Fundraising Campaign, which will run through the entire month of July. We are so grateful to our local Grocery Outlet’s owners and siblings, Jonathan, Jennifer, and Edwin Perez, for supporting our mission in this unique way.
Community participation will not only ensure food to fuel our Scholars’ bodies and minds through a busy summer, but will help to keep our Family Food Bank well-stocked as inflationary costs continue to create new financial hardships for our families. Please consider supporting this campaign by stopping in to our local San Rafael Grocery Outlet to shop for some great deals, while supporting NGS. For more details, click here: Shop San Rafael Grocery Outlet & Support NGS!