Domanick Castro stands proudly on the stage in the middle of the Hoover High School football field, ready to address his fellow graduates.
He begins with a powerful message about life: “Life happens, and not everything goes your way. Yet, things go exactly the way they need to. You just don’t see it as it happens. It’s not until later, looking back, that you realize just how much you’ve grown and how far you’ve come.”
Domanick is one of the first in his family to graduate from high school. According to a recent report – in California, 46% of college students are the first in their family to go to college, like Domanick. He plans to be the first in his family to receive a degree from a university; he is not alone.
Of the 1,272 local students receiving scholarships through San Diego Foundation for the 2024 – 2025 academic year, 74% of them are the first in their families to obtain a four-year college degree.
Transforming Young Lives Through Science
Photo Credit: Ocean Discovery Institute
To get to this point, Domanick credits Ocean Discovery Institute (ODI) – an organization he has been a part of since 2018, when he was in middle school. There, he explored the world of science and received help with college and scholarship applications.
“City Heights is a very low-income community. It’s very diverse and ethnic,” said Isabel Herrera, ODI Program Coordinator.
“A lot of the times our families are worried their students aren’t able to pay the cost of college. We always like to explain we have partners like San Diego Foundation (SDF) who allow scholarships for our high school seniors to get into college.”
SDF and its fundholders have long supported ODI – awarding more than $2.2 million in grants to the organization since 2021. Additionally, this year, SDF awarded a record-breaking $4.9 million in scholarships to local students, thanks to the generosity of donors and their 150-plus scholarship funds.
“A lot of people in my community think that ‘oh, my family isn’t the most well off – how am I supposed to continue my education?’” Domanick explained. “With these scholarships, it breaks down those barriers so students can realize they can do it, too.”
Beginning the Next Chapter
A 2024 recipient of an SDF Community Scholars Initiative scholarship, Domanick recalls the memorable moment he learned about his acceptance to University of California San Diego.
“I was at tutoring after school when someone said, ‘Oh my god, they released UC San Diego admissions decisions.’ Right there with my friend, we opened it up, and all I read was ‘Congratulations.’ I gave my friend a hug, my calculus teacher a hug, and that was it. I went home and told my mom, ‘Mom, guess what? I did it. I made it.'”
Heading into his freshman year, Domanick wants everyone to know that achieving their dreams is possible, no matter the obstacles.
“I’m not an outlier,” he said. “Getting to where I am and where I’m going is entirely achievable by anyone, as long as you really want it.”
About the Community Scholars Initiative and the Community Scholarship Program
Domanick’s dreams of graduating college and supporting his family reflect the aspirations of many first-generation college students, or those who are the first in their families to obtain a four-year degree.
Since its start, the SDF Community Scholars Initiative and its nonprofit partners have supported more than 8,000 students prepare for, pay for and persist through college – including several hundred first-generation students. In addition, the SDF Community Scholarship Program has supported more than 14,000 local students with more than $53 million in scholarships since its inception in 1997.
The Community Scholars Initiative helps provide financial support and critical wraparound services that bolster academic achievement to increase equity, build a representative local workforce and create resilient communities. The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. has stated that investing in Black and Latino students – many of whom are first-generation college students – so they can compete for high-demand innovation jobs is critical to meet the regional demand for 20,000 new skilled workers each year and for inclusive growth of the local economy.
In 2023, the Community Scholars Initiative conducted a program evaluation to better align with the region’s current needs. The evaluation concluded that to enhance educational equity, the Community Scholars Initiative should focus on specific student populations facing the greatest barriers to completion: English language learners, students experiencing homelessness, students with disabilities, and foster youth.
Learn more about the Community Scholars Initiative and its impact in the region. If you are interested in opening a scholarship fund to support students fueling our San Diego economy, please contact Danielle Valenciano, Director of the SDF Community Scholarship Program, at DanielleV@SDFoundation.org.
