Guadalupe Center launches ‘Stepping Stones’ campaign

All 30 high school seniors graduating from Guadalupe Center’s Tutor Corps Program will be attending college in the fall and have received a collective $4 million in scholarship offers and grants, including $378,400 in scholarship funding by tutoring children in Guadalupe Center’s After-school Tutoring & Summer Enrichment Program.

Guadalupe Center honored its Tutor Corps Class of 2021, its largest class to date, on May 4 during a private ceremony held at Immokalee High School, where students were joined by family members and mentors to celebrate their achievements. Notable statistics from the Tutor Corps Class of 2021 include:

– Students earned an average weighted GPA of 4.0

– 17 of 30 students earned college credits while in high school (their average was nearly 21 credits each)

– 12 of 30 students are the first in their family to graduate from high school

– 26 of 30 students are first-generation college students

“The Tutor Corps Class of 2021 overcame disruptions in their education caused by the pandemic, Hurricane Irma and other life challenges, but emerged stronger and more resilient,” said Guadalupe Center President Dawn Montecalvo. “As these young men and women head to college in the fall, I am confident they will continue excelling in the classroom and on campus, like they have done for the past four years during high school.”

Tutor Corps is a college-preparatory program that offers guidance in college and career readiness, ACT and SAT test prep, mentorships, financial literacy and scholarship assistance. Guadalupe Center’s mission is breaking the cycle of poverty through education for the children of Immokalee.

The Tutor Corps celebration event featured remarks by Board of Trustees Chairman Joseph Baughman, Montecalvo, Vice President of Programs Bob Spano and Tutor Corps Program Director Sheila Oxx. Three students – Perla Munoz, Jose Reyes and Jean Jocirin – delivered invocations in English, Spanish and Creole, respectively.

Despite missing their junior and senior proms, athletic events, field trips, college visits and many other opportunities because of COVID-19, Spano noted that all 30 students still reached the finish line. Now, they can focus on what’s ahead. “Students, the future is your motivation,” Spano told students during his address. “Learn from the past, but live in the future.”

Graduating senior Lunex Illozier, a self-taught musician and academic scholar who will be majoring in biomedical engineering at Roberts Wesleyan College, delivered the keynote address.

Guadalupe Center’s Tutor Corps Class of 2021 includes Mariana Brito, Ricardo Castillo, Lorve Cherilus, Ashley Decius, Marc Dorcin, Kayla Etienne, Diyanara Galvan, Mariela Galvan, Malaya Hollins, Lunex Illozier, Jean Jocirin, Jazmin Leon, Karina Lopez-Ramirez, Daniela Martinez, Pedro Miguel, Laura Morales-Nito, Esteban Moreno, Perla Munoz, Rosaura Munoz-Luna, Geraldine Pierre, Gierdy Pierre-Paul, Daniela Rafael, Jose Reyes Dubon, Gisel Reyes, Benny Reyna, Ethan Rincon, Veronica Sanchez, Noemy Segura Sanchez, Jaime Sifuentes and Maria Tistoj.