Student Spotlight: "Education is my passion; helping others is my calling"

Cindy at her graduation from Cañada College.

About one in every six children is diagnosed with a developmental disability in the United States, according to a report by the CDC. It’s not hard to imagine that a significant portion of those children do not or cannot get the help they need to succeed in their academic journeys. Upward Scholars alum Cindy wants to change that. 

In her native Nicaragua, it was clear that Cindy had a passion for education. As a toddler, her mother—a grade school teacher—would often take Cindy to work when there was no one to care for her at home. At two or three years old, Cindy was absorbing a first-grade education, and before she knew it, she was enrolled in grade school with classmates who were years older than she was. 

At only fifteen, Cindy graduated high school and attempted to enroll at university in Nicaragua. However, due to her young age, she had trouble enrolling, and by the time everything was sorted out, the only majors with vacancies were dance and "Pedagogy with mention in Special Education." Not interested in studying dance, Cindy decided she would study pedagogy for a year and then transfer into her dream program—journalism. But a year later, Cindy wanted to continue her studies in pedagogy. After graduation, Cindy got a job as the Director of Pedagogy at Corazón Contento—a Spanish-owned organization working with children with developmental disabilities in Nicaragua.

Three years later, Cindy decided to migrate to the U.S. Not knowing a word of English, Cindy turned this challenge into a learning opportunity. "I needed to learn English if I was going to be happy here, and since I loved school, I thought I'd start there." She enrolled in night classes at Sequoia Adult School and quickly tested high enough to enroll at Cañada College. Cindy majored in Psychology as a way to learn something new, which complemented her previous studies and experience. In fall 2020, Cindy graduated from Cañada College with an Associate’s degree in Psychology. 

While at Cañada, Cindy used her professional experience to earn extra income as a learning aide for people with disabilities and realized the great, unfulfilled need for this work in the Bay Area. “There were days when I would work nonstop because the demand was just so high. I started to think about how I could formalize and expand my services as a learning aide.” In February 2021, Cindy participated in the Upward Scholars BusinessUp Boot Camp, a two-day program in which entrepreneurs develop their business ideas and build personalized, actionable business plans. “The boot camp helped me understand what it truly takes to own a business and gave me a better idea of the steps I need to take to be successful in this endeavor.” Cindy plans to use this knowledge to open her own business to provide quality services to people with developmental and learning disabilities across the Bay Area. 

In spring 2021, Cindy transferred to San Francisco State University to continue her education and plans to graduate with her BA in Psychology in 2023.