It was all smiles when Cynthia Carlin accepted the scholarship with her three young sons looking on. A group of Hope Through Housing volunteers arrived at her front door with balloons, a giant Building Bright Scholars photo frame and her scholarship award package.
Cynthia has been a resident of the Villagio affordable housing community in Rancho Cucamonga for the past several years. As a single mom, raising three boys is challenging enough. But Cynthia is dedicated to providing a better future for her children and is setting the foundation by being the kind of hard-working example they need to see.
Early in her educational journey, she didn’t have a car and had to take a bus to her university campus, leaving at 6:45 a.m. after helping her boys get ready for school.
“Sometimes the bus wouldn’t even stop, or it was full and we needed to stand,” Cynthia recalled. “No matter the transportation sacrifices, I still managed to get to campus for my classes – not always on time – but I made it.”
Cynthia recently completed a bachelor’s degree in business administration while working to support her family, and now she’s pursuing a master’s in nonprofit management at Cal State San Bernardino.
She is one of 16 awardees recently selected as scholarship recipients by Hope Through Housing to encourage National CORE affordable housing residents to continue their education. Each resident’s story is unique – some are graduating high school seniors heading to a community college or university, and others are adults going back to school or taking steps to secure a vocational certificate or license.
But there was one common thread among all recipients — the presence of safe, stable housing. Just as the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow taught us, if our basic physiological and safety needs fail to be met, self-actualization is difficult for anyone to reach. Housing and one’s living environment is foundational to pursuing an education, professional accomplishments, and ultimately self-sufficiency.
Nicole Jacobs, a senior at Cal Baptist University, received an award to purchase a new laptop to help complete her coursework. She began community college a decade ago before returning in 2017 to complete her associate’s degree. She credits the Mountainside affordable housing community with the platform that has allowed her to successfully return to school.
In her words, “I now have a secure and stable place for me and my daughter to live and can focus on other things like school.”
For youth like Issac Briones, a resident at Desert Meadows in Indio, his scholarship will help him buy computer hardware as he studies cybersecurity. Isaac credits his mother for his desire to continue his education and also acknowledged the role his community has played in his success.
“Being able to wake up in a place that you can call your home, a place where you know it’s permanent and you won’t have to move within a year; that feeling gives you a sense of belonging and helps get more done,” shared Isaac.
Miguel Platero Alas, a student at College of the Desert and a resident at River Canyon in Cathedral City, was recently admitted to UC San Diego to complete a degree in aerospace engineering. He and his sister live with their mother and, like many award recipients, will be the first in their family to complete a college degree.
“As a student who has grown up in a low-income household, money can often be a stressful subject matter,” Miguel wrote in a thank you letter after receiving his scholarship. “With your help, I will be able to focus on furthering my education without having to worry about finances.”
Miguel concluded his letter with gratitude for the support he and his family have received, committing to continuing to work hard and give back to community in any way possible.
Gregory Bradbard is an advocate for breaking the cycle of poverty as President of the SoCal-based Hope Through Housing Foundation, www.HTHF.org.
