Staff Spotlight: David Tarula

“College wasn’t a part of my vocabulary growing up. In my family, getting a job was valued over going to college.” explains David Tarula, Breakthrough Silicon Valley Middle School Program Coordinator. In middle school, he was often teased by friends and family for earning good grades. David felt a constant pressure to be like his friends, who skipped class and got into fights. His desire to hold onto his childhood friendships led him to quickly disengage with school. His love of learning was overpowered by the social pressures he felt.

Elementary school picture of David.

The summer before 10^th grade, David moved to a new city and with that he was presented with a clean slate. David took that opportunity to make better choices both academically and socially. For the first time in his life, he thoughtfully chose who he surrounded himself with. As he invested more and more time on academics, he faced increased resistance from his parents, who needed his help in supporting the family financially. David compromised with his parents by taking on part time jobs after school.

Senior year came quickly. David submitted many college applications and scholarships but didn’t believe he would actually attend college. One day in Civics class, his teacher asked David where he was going to college. David replied that he was not planning on going to college. The teacher did not accept that answer. He responded, “College is not an option. I want to know where you are going.” That was the turning point in David’s life. 

David with his former Math Class.

After the last minute decision to go to college, David enrolled at CSU Bakersfield with scholarships and FAFSA helping him pay tuition. Throughout his four years at CSU Bakersfield, David managed to juggle a full time job along with attending school full-time and taking on leadership roles in on-campus organizations. His path to and through college was far from easy but it is a path that many students tread.

His experience as a student inspired him to pursue a career in education. Just like his Civics teachers, he wants to ensure that academically motivated students, like those he works with in Breakthrough, achieve their collegiate and career dreams. 

Get to know David in this quick Q&A:

How did you first learn about Breakthrough?
I first learned about Breakthrough from my college advisor, who told me about the Teaching Fellowship. I was a Breakthrough Teacher in the summer of 2009!

 David assisting a student during the After-School Math Program.

What would you be doing if you weren't at your current job?
If I wasn’t the Middle School Program Coordinator, I’d still be in the classroom teaching math!

What is one word you would use to describe yourself as a child?
Dreamer

What is the nerdiest thing you do in your spare time?
Every moment of my life is nerdy. If I had to pick one, I would say arguing about time travel with my friends. 

What's a fear your proud to have overcome? 
The fear that I was proud to overcome was my fear of heights. I went full force when I faced it and jumped out of a plane. I’ve jumped out of a plane three times total. Anyone willing to go with me for a fourth time?

What did you want to be growing up?

David with Breakthrough colleague, Tina Brinceño 

Originally, I wanted to be a Power Ranger. The Blue Power Ranger to be exact. Since I didn't know Zordon or Alpha 5, I went to college thinking I wanted to be a lawyer but changed my mind when I was a Breakthrough Teaching Fellow. 

Have you ever met anybody famous? Where? When? 
I’ve met two famous people! I met Walter Emanuel Jones, who played Zach Taylor (aka the Black Power Ranger) in the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers". I was eight and geeked out. I also met Erik Estrada from the show "Chips." They were both in line at a movie theater in Burbank, CA.

What would a perfect day look like for you?
I’d be at the beach all day. I would start with a 5k, spend most of the day lounging around reading a book or doing math problems, and finish with dinner at a local restaurant that has live music.

When playing two truths and a lie, what are your two truths and a lie?
My two truths are usually: I live in Lamont, CA and I fostered a student who is now in the Army. I need to change that because I no longer live in Lamont! My lie is that I own a dog. I want a dog, but don’t own one.

Name: Doodle | Artist: David Tarula

How often do you doodle? What do your doodles look like? 
I doodle when I’m working on a project and I’m stuck. They are usually faces or geometric figures.

 

To learn more about David and other members of our staff, please visit our website!

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Staff Spotlight: Christina Tran-Kenyon

Born and raised in East San Jose, Christina Tran-Kenyon was the first in her family to attend college. She is an alumna of University of the Pacific where she earned both her Bachelor of Science in Business,and Masters in Education. Like many Breakthrough students, language and cultural barriers often posed a threat to her academic pursuits. Her native tongue of Vietnamese, which would often pose a hurdle in her literature and writing classes, is now an asset to her as she builds relationships with our Vietnamese speaking families in the very same neighborhood she grew up in. Her parents made countless sacrifices to ensure that Christina was able to earn the college degree and pave the way for her three younger sisters.

Get to know Christina, or as the Breakthrough staff affectionately calls her CTK, in this quick Q&A:

What is your role at Breakthrough? How would you explain your work in three sentences to your eight-year-old cousin?

At Breakthrough, I work with middle school students and their families after-school, weekends and summers. My job is to organize programs, and make sure that all the students keep their grades up!

What do you like most about Breakthrough?

 Christina with her mother, sisters and husband

Breakthrough’s ability to create a rigorous academic environment combined with a very inclusive positive culture for our students.

What is your biggest piece of advice for Breakthrough students?

Asking for help is not a weakness, don’t be afraid to ask when you don’t know. Successful people are the ones who ask.

What would you like Breakthrough kids to know about you?

I come from a very big family, and they 

are really important to me.  I had 360 people at my wedding, and 300 of them were my family members.

What’s your favorite thing to do in your hometown of San Jose?

Eating authentic Vietnamese food! There are so many Vietnamese restaurants in San Jose, and I missed that when I was living in the East Bay.

What would you most regret not having done by the end of your life?

Being able to start my own family and raise my own kids.     

What excited you so much that it kept you awake the night before?

The night before the first day of school when I was a student or teacher always kept me up.

To learn more about Christina and other members of our staff, please visit our website!

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First-Generation College Applicant Opens Up about the Grueling Process

Applying to college can be overwhelming for any student. But it’s especially intimidating for an applicant who is the first in his or her family to attend a four-year university. Decisions about where and how to apply, and college affordability issues pose hurdles for first-generation college students. At Breakthrough Silicon Valley, we make the college application process less daunting for students.

We recently sat down with Breakthrough senior, Heriberto Alcantar, who shared his experience of being the first in his family to apply to college.

Breakthrough Silicon Valley: How long have you been preparing to apply to college?

Heriberto Alcantar: Now that I’m about to submit my applications, I realize I’ve been preparing for this moment since middle school. The application check list is long. Colleges look at all of the classes that you took; the grades in those classes; what you did after-school, on the weekends and in the summer; your ACT scores; letters from teachers, coaches, advisors. All of that does not come together in just one year. By the time some kids think about college, it is too late. They might not have taken two years of a lab science or two years of a foreign language. Luckily, since I was eleven, Breakthrough was making sure that I was in the right classes, monitoring my grades, matching me with tutors when my grades dipped, organizing the ACT Prep and Personal Writing Sessions and helping me figure out next steps – like which colleges to apply to!

BSV: It is great to hear that we kept our end of the bargain! So, which schools are you applying to?

HA: I’m applying to Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CSU East Bay, CSU Monterey Bay, Florida Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, UC Berkeley, UC Merced, UC Riverside and UCLA.

BSV: That is some list! How did you decide on those colleges?

HA: It has been a long process that started the first time Breakthrough took us on a Career Exploration Field Trip to a local tech company where I met a computer engineer. Of course, I heard of computer engineers but, before that trip, I had never met one. The work he was doing was fascinating to me. Since then, I wanted to be a computer engineer. I started my college search by looking at schools with engineering programs. Then, I started to consider fit. Last spring, Breakthrough took us on a college tour of schools in Southern California. Before that trip, I was convinced that I wanted a small school. I’m shy and didn’t think I would fit in at a big school. But, on the trip, we visited one small school and it felt too small. There weren’t a lot of people walking around and nobody seemed to be hanging out on the quad or in the library. I realized that I needed a school with more life because even though I’m shy, I need people around me and opportunities to meet new people. I probably would not be applying to UCLA if I did not visit the campus.

BSV: Has cost been a concern when applying to and deciding where to attend college?

HA: Definitely! I’m still learning what type of financial aid is out there. I am fearful that my grades are not high enough for merit based aid and scholarships. At least I’m not alone in figuring all of this out.  We started learning about saving and budgeting for college and the difference between loans, grants and scholarships at Breakthrough last year. This year, they will walk us through FAFSA and go over the financial aid packages and all of that with me and my family.

BSV: Besides money, what has been the most stressful part of the college application process so far?

HA: Writing personal statements is stressful. A lot of effort is required to write a strong statement. The first time I saw the prompts, I didn’t know how to start. I felt like I had to unpack my life and fit it into 1000 words. I reflected on pieces of my life that most people try to ignore. It is scary to then share that with someone I do not know.

BSV: You have devoted countless hours of time to preparing and applying to college. What motivates you to do all of that?

HA: Biggest motivator: my parents. My mom and dad were unable to finish high school and I have seen how they have struggled to raise me and my two sisters. I want to lift the burdens that my parents have shouldered alone all of these years. My hope is that a college degree can lead me and my family towards stability, towards a life without fear of the future. By being the first in my family to go to college, I will pave the way for my younger sisters. More than an example, I want to be a resource. In the same way that I go to Breakthrough with questions, I want my sisters to feel confident coming to me about anything - APs, entrance exams, fee waivers, loans, and whatever else we should know when applying to college!

BSV: Any crucial advice for fellow first-gen students applying to college?

HA: The most important advice that I can share is to never give up on a dream. Over the years, I have heard, “college may not be the best option for you,” “you will not make it to college,” and “you are not college material.” But, for all of those that have tried to shut me down, there have been even more that have raised me up. Those are the people that I have kept in my corner. Those are people that are going to be with me when I walk across the stage at college graduation. 

If you are interested in learning more about how Breakthrough Silicon Valley assists high school students through the college application process, and becoming a part of our life-changing programs, visit our website today! 

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Design Thinking: Innovation in the Classroom

In addition to teaching two core writing classes to Breakthrough 7^th graders, Clare Dreyfus, a rising senior at Vanderbilt University, also taught a Design Thinking elective in which students conceptualize, build, and refine projects using the tools and technology made available by our host Hillbrook School.

The Idea Lab, or iLab for short, is full of cutting-edge technology and materials: from robotic Lego pieces, to a laser cutter and 3D printer. The iLab’s year-round teacher, Christa Flores, has generously donated her time to supervise the use of the space and support our young teacher.

When I walked in to explore Clare’s class, students were diligently working on different models, inspecting every detail in their design and planning materials to use for their final project. One student was using a metal file to sand the edges of her model house. Another student was using graphic design software to add decorations to his hand-made slingshot.

As I walked around, one student, Antonio, was very eager to show me every part of the iLab. He explained to me how the 3D printer worked, led me to the laser cutter to watch how one of his classmates was preparing flame designs to decorate his slingshot with, and later led me to the back closet.

“This is where the knowledge starts!” said Antonio, spreading his arms open across all the materials in the closet. The way he presented each wooden stick, pipe cleaner, and cardboard piece to me made it seem like each item was the greatest building material known to the world.

He showed me the different materials he himself had used to create his archery bow and then led me to his personal cubicle on the wall where he stored all the materials he was using for class. From a small plastic box, he pulled out a sequence of three objects: a curved wooden stick, then a curved piece of cardboard, and finally, the laser cut wooden bow he was working on. He explained to me that the first two items were prototypes of his final project. His inspiration for the bow, he explained, actually came from the curved wooden stick he had found somewhere outside.


"Ms. Flores said we steal nature's forms to make our own designs. You can't find replicas of a shape in nature so that's when we make our own designs."  

"You cannot find the same shape in nature again," further explained Clare. "In order to share the same design with others and continue replicating it, like the curved wooden stick Antonio found, you must create your own".

He then went on to explain how he had used the laser cutter to create four identical pieces that he glued together to make his final design for the bow.

I was impressed that after only four weeks, Antonio knew his way around the iLab extremely well and owned his project from the very conception of the idea for the bow. Clare says the most important thing she has taught in her class is that students create everything on their own. Often students wanted to use instructions online or purchase ready-made parts. She challenged them to use their creativity to lead the entire process of creating and building themselves. She also wanted her class to be a change of pace from the students’ other courses.

"Everyone! Let’s evaluate Anthony's slingshot!" called out Clare.

As students crowded around Anthony’s project, they gave constructive feedback on how to improve his model and prototypes for the final project. They took the learning and evaluation into their own hands.

Clare’s Design Thinking class is about self-direction and discovery. She herself had to learn how to use the equipment at the beginning of the summer and, as such, was learning along with her students how to build and create in the iLab. At first, she led them through smaller projects such as creating nametags on the laser cutter, and making diamonds with the 3D printer. Now her students completely own the process and only turn to Clare for a little guidance or supportive feedback.

It’s fitting that a Design Thinking class is taught at Breakthrough Silicon Valley, where our students live surrounded by leading technology companies. Students’ creativity, innovation, and hard work were extremely charming qualities to find in the 7^th and 8^th graders working in the iLab this summer. But perhaps the most charming moment of my visit was when I told Antonio I was going to write this blog entry about his class that would feature his explanations of the projects.

In a manner most fitting of the awe and creativity in this 7^th grade boy, he raised his arms in the air and exclaimed victoriously, “I’m going to be on the internet!”

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Career Explorations: Connecting the Professional World With Classrooms

The past two weeks at Breakthrough Silicon Valley have been packed with career-relevant activities. Last week, we invited over 30 professionals to step into our students’ classrooms to talk about their jobs and educational journeys. Our Career Speakers represented various professions: from Adobe developers and San Jose City Hall lawyers, to banking experts at CEFCU, and marketing specialists at Google. 

Our students were exposed to a variety of careers and learned more about what engineers and lawyers all do on a daily basis.

On Friday of last week, we also invited over 20 female professionals to our 4^th Annual Women in STEM Brunch. They spent a morning with our 100+ female students and spoke about their educational journeys, and what it is like to be a female in a highly male-dominated sector of the professional world.

Last and most definitely not least, our students embarked on Career Explorations Day this past Tuesday. Our students visited over 25 different companies including San Jose Mercury News, Ubisoft, Bank of America, Microsoft, and Applied Materials.

That’s a whole lot of events to pack into an already packed 6-week academic summer program. So why is that we choose to spend so much time organizing these events for our students?

Simply put, as important as academics are in finding successful careers, being exposed to careers and professionals in the real world helps link all the classroom learning to the world outside of school. It adds relevance to our students’ efforts and helps them to be all the more motivated to learn when they know what the payoff may look like in their futures.

In order to motivate students, teachers may tell them, “If you study hard and complete all your homework, you will be better prepared for college and be more successful in life!” That’s a difficult claim to make and especially difficult for a young student to conceptualize, especially if they don’t know any professionals in their life. As has been mentioned, the vast majority of our students will be the first to attend college. Most of their family members know very little about college and perhaps even less about what it’s like to apply all the classroom learning to engineering or practicing law. All our students know immediately is that 2-hours of homework per night means less free time to play with friends or spend on the internet.

With events such as Career Speakers Day, Women of STEM Brunch, and Career Explorations Day, our students are able to not only conceptualize, but also experience what it means to be a college graduate and live life as a professional.

We aren’t the only ones to recognize the power of connecting the classroom to the real world. Other programs such as Linked Learning make it their goal to bring experiential learning into high school years. They work to ensure that students are working passionately for their career goals by learning and experiencing first-hand what those careers will look like through internships, shadowing, and other opportunities.

It is perhaps no secret that students feel more motivated to attend college when they know what’s at the end of the road. They are inspired to work harder and dream all the bigger after meeting professionals living out their career goals and learning about the hard work that goes into finding success.

At the closing of our Career Speakers Days, our Executive Director ensured our guest speakers that they have already made a long-lasting impact on our students. The 20 minutes they spent with each group has given them a brighter glimpse into the professional world and inspired our students to live within that world themselves one day. Through these events, our student get the opportunity to meet and see in person their career aspirations, making their dreams seem all the more possible.

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"It's so much more than a summer camp!"

Last week, I met with one of my friends and was explaining to him what a day at Breakthrough Silicon Valley looks like.

“In the morning, we meet the students at the buses, give them high fives on the way down, and then play some games before classes start. We also have this thing called ASM which stands for All School Meeting where students prepare skits to share with their peers and teachers. Oh, and practically every week we have special events. For example, tomorrow I get to help out with Olympics at one of the sites!”

His response, even if unsurprising, caught me off guard:

“So is Breakthrough basically summer camp but with classes?”

I thought to defend the program by saying, “No, it’s an academic summer program! It’s so much more than a summer camp!” In fact, I think I might have said that before taking a step back and thinking about the similarities between Breakthrough Silicon Valley’s summer program and summer camps.

It’s true that the focus of Breakthrough is on academics. Our students arrive at 8:15 every morning and start their first class at 8:30am. They go through 6 classes every day and have Study Hall for 40-60 minutes at the end of each school day. Before 4:30pm, we might have packed students brains with high doses of literature discussion circles, to the quadratic formula and Newton’s Laws of Motion. The students then board their buses back home where they work on their 1-2 hours’ worth of nightly homework. But there are many aspects of traditional summer camps that contribute to our program’s success as well.

During All School Meeting, students are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and try something new with full effort and a positive spirit. Many of our students feel uncomfortable leading cheers or acting silly on stage at the beginning, but eventually become excited and look forward to their time on stage. Similarly, during Olympics, having a positive team spirit and attitude is regarded highly, even above skill level. If a student fails to dodge a ball in dodgeball, their team cheers her on and praises her efforts. While teachers and students alike promote quality skits or victories in Olympics, nobody’s goal is to train our students to be good actors or star athletes. It is a place for them to act silly, feel a little uncomfortable, and in the process become more confident. It is less about showing off talent and more about improving and learning.

The classroom approach is similar. Our students’ work is held to very high standards, but the goal is not to have them turning in perfect assignments every day. And if a student misses a homework assignment, the focus is on finding a solution to the issue: Was the assignment unclear? Did you feel unprepared to compete it? How can we work to ensure you complete all your assignments? Students’ success is a collaborative effort between the teachers, staff, and students at Breakthrough.

Stanford psychologist Paul O’Keefe conducted a study that tried to identify students’ “goal orientation” during summer camps and other summer enrichment programs. O’Keefe identified two kinds of orientations: 1) mastery orientation where students are interested in learning for learning’s sake and 2) performance orientation where students are interested in learning in order to show off their smarts. 

At Breakthrough Silicon Valley, strong emphasis is placed on what O’Keefe refers to as mastery orientation. We know and recognize that our students are smart and talented; our next step is to develop and celebrate their growing work ethic. Our goal is to have them think not in terms of how smart they are, but rather in terms of how their motivation and determination will help them continue to become even better students.

In thinking of how our Breakthrough Silicon Valley summer program promotes this kind of learning and environment which is similar to summer camps, I take back my knee-jerk reaction of insult and instead celebrate the similarities. Perhaps the way our Executive Director describes it as an “Academic summer school with a summer camp vibe”, is a good way to go about it. Like summer camps, Breakthrough emphasizes collaborative, team-building activities and fosters resilience in our students. If one assignment wasn’t great or you felt unprepared for a skit, that’s okay – you’ll get another chance to take a positive risk tomorrow.

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Spirit Week 2014

Spirit Week is a celebration of our students’ creativity, positive risk taking, and passion for Breakthrough. Students dress up every day according to themes such as pajama day, wacky Wednesday, superhero, and decades day.  Within their crews, or small Breakthrough families outside the classroom, students create names and chants to show their crew pride.

For example, this summer at Hillbrook our theme is Breakthrough Cup, and students stretched their imagination by creating new countries to compete in Breakthrough Olympics. At the other two sites the themes are Cosmic Dancers and Holidays in Space. This experience allows the students to bond with both their teachers and other students that they wouldn’t otherwise connect with.

Spirit Week helps to foster a supportive peer group culture and allows the students to step out of their comfort zone. It encourages them to celebrate their academic goals in an environment that promotes fun just as much as it does learning.

Footage taken from Breakthrough Silicon Valley San Jose Unified School District (Hosted at the Hillbrook School) and Franklin McKinley School District (Host at Evergreen Valley High School) sites between June 30th - July 3rd.

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What makes a good teacher?

Remember those teachers who made the greatest impact on you? It might be your first-grade teacher, high school calculus teacher, or a college professor. What was it about their teaching style that made them stand out from all the other teachers you had? Were they more engaging? Were they well-liked? What made them so memorable?

Let me ask you: What made this person a good teacher?

My guess is there are a lot of different answers. Some might say it was the way they made class material clear and interesting. Others might focus on the fact that they spent a lot of time trying to get to know each student. Still some may find all of these qualities in their “good” teacher. In the end, we can all point to something and say, “That’s it!”

So, if we are able to identify specific qualities that make a teacher “good”, why can’t we just have all teachers adopt those qualities? In thinking about the millions of teachers across the world, I’ve wondered: is anyone capable of becoming a good teacher so long as they know the tricks and techniques? Or is good teaching something innate, reserved for the select few people who have those special qualities from the start?

After a decade of No Child Left Behind testing, researchers found a mountain of data that measured which factors had the greatest impact on student performance. Everything from class size to curriculum was measured, but only one – just one – factor was found to have any significant impact: the teacher!

Interestingly enough, the research indicates that factors such as a graduate school degree, a high SAT score, an extroverted personality, and passing the teacher certification exam on the first try were not indicators or predictors of a good teacher. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invested millions in programs to improve teacher quality. It is not surprising that, as someone who lives in a sea of data, Bill Gates made this careful comment: 

“Unfortunately, it seems the field doesn’t have a clear view of what characterizes good teaching. I’m personally very curious.”  

Having experienced teaching myself, I am more than curious as well. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the qualities of a good teacher are often immeasurable. The skills and preparation of one good teacher may be drastically different from another’s. Most agree being a good teacher takes great dedication and drive. Often professional teachers say that you can never truly master teaching – and as soon as you think you did, you should retire.

The trick to teaching may not be known – no secret method to ensuring a student’s success and interest in the classroom. And yet, every summer at Breakthrough Silicon Valley, we find our students more than engaged with our teachers. After just a few days, even the quietest students are dancing in their seats with their hands raised, eagerly hoping to be called on.

Last summer, I had the pleasure of being a teaching fellow for Breakthrough Silicon Valley. During our training days, we had workshops that ranged from effective lesson planning to classroom management. Our training lasted a little over a week and we must have spent well over 90 hours participating in workshops, developing engaging lesson plans, preparing our classrooms, and building relationships with each other as we prepared for our Breakthrough students’ arrival at the beginning of next week.

By the time my students arrived for the start of the 6-week program, I was incredibly tired from training week.  And yet, I remember at the end of that first day of teaching feeling a funny combination of weariness from work, and an immense energy in anticipation for the next day. The teaching day lasted from 7:30am to 6pm and did not end there – as soon as I got home, I had more lessons and activities to prepare for my students.

I never felt like I wanted to take a day off either. I may have needed it physically, but my yearn to see my students again, interact and learn together with them and the rest of my fellow teachers made me more than willing to wake up at 5 in the morning to prepare for another school day.  Each and every day I looked forward to trying new ways of presenting material and seeing my students engage with The Giver, the book we read in my 7^th grade Literature classes. I also could not wait to see my students join in my passion for music in my Music Theory elective.

Outside of the teaching theory workshops and classroom management technique practice, what I really appreciated from our training week was the opportunity to talk and discuss education inequity and the stories of our own educational journeys. All of us teaching fellows came from a variety of backgrounds. Several of us were first-generation college students, much like our Breakthrough students, who are on their path to college. We came from schools as far away as the University of Pennsylvania and Duke to neighborhood schools like Stanford, Santa Clara University, and Bellarmine College Preparatory. We were teaching self-created electives that ranged from Creative Writing and Intro to Film to Basketball and Computer Science. What brought us together was our interest and drive to learn and make an impact in education. What brought us together was not only our interest to learn how to make an impact in education, but our drive to make an impact ourselves.  Our schooling is something of great value to all of us and we celebrated the opportunity to provide students from underserved communities a highly engaging and rigorous academic summer program.

This summer, I have taken a behind-the-scenes role as the Public Relations Intern. I remember walking through the halls on the first day of the summer program, seeing teachers nervous yet excited to find their space in the classroom. Again, at the end of the first day, the teacher interns were filled with a great energy that contradicted their tiredness from long hours of work. One 7^th grade Writing teachers closed saying, “I’m so happy today happened!” as he was walking out to find his ride.  In a charmingly simple and sincere manner, he summarized the way I felt at the end of each school day.

I definitely do not claim to have unlocked the secrets of “good” teaching. But I do believe Breakthrough has cracked the code in many ways. The program brings together high school and college students with a variety of career goals and upbringings to spend a summer with students from underrepresented backgrounds and underserved communities. The connections we built with them in the classroom: the field trips and extracurricular activities we experienced together…they all allowed us to bond and find so many fulfilling moments in our Breakthrough summer.

Breakthrough is finding success with teachers and students, and I, for one, am so much better because of it. I feel I grew so much as a person and learner, and became all the more driven to help create quality educational opportunities for all students. I sincerely hope that one day I too can become one of those memorable teachers to my students.

-Joel Ponce

P.S. If you ever come across this, Bill Gates, I invite you to come see our Breakthrough Silicon Valley teachers in action…since you’re curious.

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About This Blog

The Breakthrough Blog was started in Summer of 2014 by Public Relations Intern, Joel Ponce:

I experienced Breakthrough for the first time during my 7th grade summer, when I was just eleven years old. Seven years later, I spent my first summer out of college working as a teacher intern for Breakthrough Silicon Valley. I was now the 7th grade teacher rather than the 7th grade student. Breakthrough's dual mission of preparing motivated students for a four-year college and inspiring high school and college-age students to pursue careers in education is one I truly connected with. This summer, I was happy to return as the Public Relations and Special Projects Intern and continue to learn and experience how Breakthrough impacts the lives of so many students every summer.

It is my hope that many other Breakthrough teachers, instructional coaches, supporters, and staff alike will use this blog to share their passion for Breakthrough Silicon Valley.

To find out more about Breakthrough Silicon Valley, please visit our website: http://breakthroughsv.org/

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