Jose, high school counselor:

“I have so much to say about the B-Loved Foundation. I am forever grateful for their support in my career and education. Growing up I did not have anyone around me that had ever gone to college and I felt like that was not what I was going to do when I became an adult. The closer I reached high school the more confused I got about what I wanted to do. Being a first generation student (means that your parents or grandparents did not go to college), I felt lost and not worthy of going to college. In high school, I was given opportunities to join programs and sports like Tennis that I normally would never do. One of my biggest supporters was my counselor in high school, she kept challenging me with advanced courses and to believe in myself. 

I was struggling during senior year to make a decision on what I wanted to do. I worked in the fields in the summer, worked at a local fast food restaurant, and a yogurt shop to help my family. I started falling into this mindset of not trying senior year and felt like I was ready to give up. Then I felt it, I felt the motivation, the urge to never go back to living like this for me and my family. I wanted change for my family and I reached out to my counselor about applying to college. From there I became patient to see what my future held for me. I received many denials which made me feel like it was not for me. I kept waiting and finally started seeing acceptance letters, with the financial aid letter included. Some of those schools offered me more loans than scholarships/grants which made me think I was not going to a 4 year university.

This all changed when I started applying for local scholarships and saw that I received the B-Loved foundation. I had the pleasure of meeting Mike when I was awarded the scholarship of not only a laptop but also a financial scholarship for school. I realized that I can make it to college with these amazing opportunities and since then I felt supported by both Mike and Lori. Due to my experiences, I want to help give back to my community and have found that being a school counselor is a great way to connect with the community and help encourage the new generations to follow what they want to do! I will forever be grateful for what B-Loved has done for me and my family!”