Non-Profit Grants Community College Scholarships
Ascending Lights sees the benefits of a community college education, versus a four-year university, for Los Angeles students, and provides full scholarships to those seeking higher education.
By Stacie Chan, EGP Staff Writer
Virginia Gomez Martinez, 25, (left) currently a student at Cal State L.A. and a member of Lady of Lourdes Church in East Los Angeles, chats with her Ascending Lights mentor, Missy Griffin.
As an undocumented resident, Simona Ramirez, 20, was ineligible to receive any financial aid from East L.A. City College in 2006. But with the assistance of Ascending Lights, a faith-based independent organization, Ramirez didn’t pay a dime, and even received a mentor and support network that motivated her to continue school, she said.
Having recently graduated and obtained citizenship, Ramirez plans to attend Cal State L.A. in the winter of 2009.
Since 1993, Ascending Lights Leadership Network (ALLN) has been the only organization in Los Angeles to provide students, like Ramirez, with the financial and spiritual resources necessary to graduate from Community College, an education that is often “more suitable” for them, president and founder Gary Krauss said.
Ascending Lights continues to combat the pervasive stereotype that Community College is “second best,” Krauss said, adding that a four-year university education can be too overwhelming.
“There is a lack of awareness that community colleges can, and do, provide a quality education for many folks. The classes are smaller, and the teachers are used to helping kids from challenging backgrounds,” Krauss asserted, the excitement rising in his voice. “As you can see, I get very passionate about community college,” he laughed.
It was this belief, and witnessing the Rodney King civil unrest, that motivated Krauss to quit his corporate job in 1992 and give back to the community. He and his wife, Marjorie, decided to live off her nursing income so Krauss could run Ascending Lights without a salary.
They sold their house and moved to Northeast Los Angeles. To keep the overhead low, Krauss said, the headquarters are still located in their home, just as it were in 1993.
Today, approximately 65 percent of program participants are Latino, according to a written statement. 32 percent are from the Boyle Heights/East L.A. area, and 21 percent are from the greater Pasadena area, ranging from ages 18 to 50 years old, all with a different background.
Yet community pastors all similarly nominate the motivated individuals, not based on high school grades, but by a desire to give back to their community.
“I thought it was funny that an organization would want to help East L.A. kids, but Ascending Lights looks for students that others normally wouldn’t,” Daniel Jimenez, a program graduate, said. “If it wasn’t for Ascending Lights, I definitely wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now. Coming from a Hispanic family, where you’re guided by what your older brothers do, I’d probably be unhappy as a teacher right now, instead of in business, so I thank God that they found me.”
There are now 38 churches that have nominated students for a total of 34 graduates and 41 current students.
“All our students are associated with a church because this helps build up outreach work in the churches,” Krauss said. “Ultimately, they give back lasting solutions to some of the most vexing material and spiritual problems that plague inner-city neighborhoods.”
Rather than just supporting students financially, Ascending Lights provides weekly academic and monthly spiritual mentoring and quarterly leadership training to guide them through college, according to Krauss.
“Mentoring is a big part of what we do, the missing piece that many community colleges lack,” Krauss said. “That is what gives us the big success rate.”
“The mentor’s job is to review tests, homework, and study habits and provide tutoring if they feel it is needed, essentially behaving like a good parent would.”
Ascending Lights also covers all possible costs, not just tuition, including books, supplies, meals and transportation. This ensures that money is not a factor in completing college, Krauss said.
“They are such wonderful people who have brought so much joy into my life that I can’t even explain,” said Virginia Gomez Martinez, a program graduate currently attending Cal State L.A. “They will help you however you need and help you be someone, whatever degree you want. There was absolutely no stress on my part.”
The program’s unique, comprehensive attention, Krauss believes, is the reason many students successfully graduate or transfer to and graduate from 4-year universities. They return to their churches and continue on to be leaders in their community.
“School drastically changed my thinking,” Jimenez said. “If it wasn’t for this program, I wouldn’t be happy doing what I’m doing. It really changed my life. Even though I’m no longer technically in the program, I still feel part of the family. More than anything, I’ve gained a family.”
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September 4, 2008 Copyright © 2010 Eastern Group Publications, Inc.
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