When they sat down for this conversation with ARISE News, seniors Dawanna, Fernando, and Lorena were, by their own accounts, a little bedraggled. “We’re sorry, but this is a really critical few weeks,” explained Dawanna. “We’re all getting our college applications ready.”
ARISE seniors Dawanna, Fernando, and Lorena
As it turns out, they needn’t have apologized. Once the discussion began, the seniors shrugged off the fatigue and their ARISE pride and college-minded vision quickly rose above any weariness.
“Since 9th grade,” says Lorena, “it’s been all about college. That’s our goal: college, college, college. We almost get tired of hearing the word,” she laughs.
“Basically, ARISE’s high school requirements are more demanding than other schools’,” explains Dawanna. “They go beyond the standard A-G [California high schools’ standard class requirements]. I feel like we’re pushed more to strive for the best.”
The school’s grading system – A, B, or no credit – also sets expectations high. C, or “average,” is not in their vocabulary. “You have to strive for that A or B or else it’s over,” says Dawanna.
The school’s immersive college-prep environment includes a commitment to out-of-classroom experiences. Lorena and two ARISE classmates traveled to Ghana over the summer to study dance. “It totally changed my view of things outside of Oakland,” she says. “I want to go back and help people over there.” With the support of ARISE staff, she also recently secured a “Students Rising Above” scholarship, which offers extra academic and socio-emotional support.
Last year, Dawanna spent the entire second semester in Sicily. “It was a great experience. I made a lot of friends, learned to speak Italian. If I hadn’t come to ARISE I’d probably have never been able to go,” she asserts. “The opportunities they offer here are endless. Every day [someone on the staff] is coming to us with this program, that program. Those who take advantage really learn from the experiences and encourage other kids [to do the same].”
Then this fall, six seniors took an eight-day tour of east coast colleges, including Williams, Amherst, Wesleyan, Vassar, and Sarah Lawrence. While all the schools impressed them, Dawanna, Fernando, and Lorena all fell for Wesleyan. “After visiting, I could picture myself at Wesleyan,” reflects Lorena. “The atmosphere was different [from high school], but at the same time it felt like home. It’s a small school like ARISE and it felt like a real community.”
All three are applying there right now.
Fernando says last year’s ARISE grads now in college – 95 percent of them are – have kept in touch, and early reports are encouraging. “They tell us they’re more prepared than other first-years,” he says, “because everything that ARISE has you do has helped them. The 10-page papers, our Proficiences (hour-long presentations and defenses in five different subject areas), this has all prepared them for how intense college is.”
“Last year’s graduating class [ARISE’s first] is proof,” says Dawanna. “By the time you leave ARISE, you’re gonna know and you’re gonna go. The mission here is all about empowering leaders, and that mission is real. They work on that mission every day and in every class.”
“Last year’s seniors did motivate me,” says Lorena. “If they did it and were here for a shorter amount of time, I know we can do it.”
The students say their class is particularly proud to be the first group of ARISE kids to have started as 9th-graders. (Last year’s seniors started at ARISE as 10th-graders.) “We’re going to be the first four-year graduates,” says Dawanna, “the first real ARISE High School graduating class. We’re proud to be direct products of ARISE.” In fact, both Dawanna and Lorena were with ARISE before it even opened, as members of the school’s original design team.
“We need everyone’s perseverance.”
The trio was “already close as a group,” says Fernando, having attended ASCEND K-8 together, but this fall’s Senior Retreat cemented their solidarity with the rest of ARISE’s senior class. 
ARISE students at the senior retreat
“The retreat was the key to getting us to bond,” reflects Dawanna. “[We came out of it knowing] we all need to take care of business this year because we’ve worked so hard up to this point. We need everyone’s perseverance.”
The kids have personal motivations as well. “People may have stereotypes about us but we are going to prove them wrong,” says Lorena. “I want to prove the statistics wrong and become successful so I can help my mom and brothers and sisters. That’s my motivation. We’re a close family and that’s why I want to keep on going.”
Dawanna is motivated by the tragedy of her cousin’s death at 15. “When that happened, no one helped us,” she says. She hopes a college degree will help her bring about change that leads to more services and support in her community. “That constantly motivates me. I don’t want to settle. I want to go even further than what I know I can do.”
“I want to do it for my family,” says Fernando. “It’s just me and my mom and sister, and I want to be a positive male figure.” He also plans to give back to his community. “I see young men like me getting into gangs, kids who started out like me wanting to go to college, but now they’re dropping out and I see that nobody’s there to help. I feel like I know what the problem is, and if I go to college I’ll be able to succeed and start the programs to help. I know the problem so I feel like I can solve it.”
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