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Meet the largest class to graduate from Making Waves Academy: the Class of 2025, known as the 22nd Wave! 95% are heading to two- or four-year colleges and universities.
86 students joined Making Waves Education Foundation’s college and career success program, earning college scholarships and support from expert college, career, and financial coaches for up to six years.
Naidelyn Aceves (she/her) is no stranger to navigating unfamiliar spaces – from being a first-generation college student from Pittsburg, California to attending UC Santa Cruz to majoring in art and design with a focus in games and playable media.
Voices of Making Waves: Meet Armando Ramirez “I always try to advocate for both mental health and for higher education, especially in the Latino community,”
From navigating the first week of college to negotiating a first job offer, conversations between students and coaches cover many topics. A coach becomes a student’s trusted advocate, their cheerleader, the person they turn to for both wins and failures, and a person they trust to help plan their future.
89 Bay Area students from low-income backgrounds earned $2.3 million total in college scholarships and are paired with Making Waves college coaches, financial coordinators, and career specialists.
At the 10th Making Waves Academy graduation ceremony in June 2024, Student Body President Simren Sandhu, Salutatorian Yoltzin Wallace, and Valedictorian Alessandro Torres gave compassionate speeches about their educational journeys.
The scholarships and coaching from Making Waves made attending UC Berkeley attainable for first-gen college student Ale Paz, who has found community on campus, studied abroad, and completed a global internship. “College has given me so much freedom to explore these opportunities and figure out what’s best for me. It’s been a great journey,” Ale said.
“I didn’t feel like I belonged in higher ed,” said Alejandro Diaz, a Wave-Maker and UC Davis graduate who shares tips for overcoming imposter syndrome in college.
Doris Martinez shares her college and career journey from San Rafael to earning a Making Waves scholarship to graduating from UC Berkeley without any student loans and starting a business career at Ernst and Young in the Bay Area.
During the 2022-23 academic year, more than 110 of our students received their degrees from more than 25 universities, with nearly 90% of our college graduates this year earning their degrees debt-free.
“Whatever you want to be in life, be the best you can be at it,” shared Allison Cubillas, a first-gen graduate from UC San Diego who graduated debt-free and started a full-time role at Meketa Investment Group.
