Below is Calvin's story of how he navigated through high school as the first in his family to attend:
Calvin Tan is the first in his family to go through the high school and college process. Neither of his parents went to college in America. Entering high school, Calvin did not know about things like the requirements needed to graduate. This can be a big disadvantage, especially when they are essential to graduating high school and going to college. He has to do his own digging, but programs like Minds Matter have relieved the problem quite a bit for him. Minds Matter offers much needed support and resources to low-income students so they can achieve their goals. Calvin’s own goal for the future is to be a software engineer or technology technician. He hopes to attend UC Berkeley to build the necessary skills for his career. Goals like these are made achievable because of the work Calvin has put in to finding resources that support low-income students.
The advice Calvin has for other low-income students is to, “make sure you go out and look for programs”.
Calvin is a rising senior. He enjoys playing basketball, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
Written by Sophia Hernandez on 07/04/2020