Student Spotlight: Our First Female Alum Earns a Bachelor's Degree

Katherine graduated from UC Berkeley in 2019.

With Kamala Harris making history as the first female U.S. Vice President, Upward Scholars has a related milestone to share: Our first female alum, Katherine, is the first Upward Scholars alum to graduate from a four-year university and to receive a diploma from UC Berkeley. 

However, Katherine’s journey to Cal was not easy. 

At age 16, Katherine faced a difficult decision — stay in her native Peru without the financial support to pursue her dreams or leave her mother to find better opportunities in the United States. With her mother’s support, she chose the latter and settled in Redwood City. 

After a few months, Katherine knew she needed to improve her English, so she enrolled in ESL classes at Sequoia Adult School where she was introduced to Upward Scholars. She transferred to Cañada College to continue ESL classes and to prepare for a career.

As an Upward Scholars student, Katherine received a laptop and book vouchers and learned about scholarships and other resources available to her.

This support, coupled with professors, advisers, Phi Theta Kappa, and the ESL and Upward Scholars communities, gave her the clarity she needed to pursue a Bachelor's degree. Katherine’s excitement to work with data and charts led her to choose economics.

To pay for her studies and support her mother in Peru, Katherine worked throughout her academic journey. She started at a fast-food restaurant, then a retail store, and eventually landed an internship with Senator Jerry Hill and a position with Ennube Solutions, a Bay Area Salesforce consulting company.

This year, Katherine started working as a full-time FinTech Consultant at FactSet, which provides data and analytic software solutions for investment professionals.

“I’m so happy the Upward Scholars program has grown so much and is now able to provide so much more support for students,” Katherine says. She is encouraging her mother, who came to the United States last year and is currently enrolled in ESL classes, to continue to community college and join the Upward Scholars Family.