Achievers

Wallenberg high school student Stevan Berhe came to the United States at the age of three from Eritrea with his mother and two brothers. He is bilingual, speaking both English and the Eritrean language Tigrinya. He is an altar server at the Russian Orthodox Church on Geary in the Richmond District.

He first went to Rosa Parks Elementary School. In second grade, he transferred to St. Charles School (and remembers being concerned that it might 0120151704be a financial strain on the family). As he was growing up, he had the benefit of two older brothers paving the way. He followed in their footsteps in his choice of sports – first soccer, and ultimately basketball.

He decided not to attend Lowell High School like his middle brother Evan (who is now a senior there). Instead, he chose Raul Wallenberg Traditional High School, which older brother Simon attended after first going to Sacred Heart. And, like Simon, Stevan joined the SF Achievers program.

Simon is now a freshman at San Francisco State and gets college funding from several sources, including SF Achievers. When asked why he was willing to be interviewed, Stevan said that he likes the SF Achievers program and wants to do what he can to support it. The students who participate become good friends. Stevan feels like he can talk to them about anything. He also finds that the activities give him a good long-term perspective when thinking about college and what he will do with his education. Stevan decided to participate in SF Achievers because he heard good things about it from his brother. Stevan is a sort of “next generation” Achiever. As the Achiever program grows, so too will those who hear good things about it and decide to give it a try.

By Lynn Jacobs

For African American males like Daniel Ogbonna, acceptance to college represents the first step toward an eminent future. Daniel is a senior at Wallenberg High School in San Francisco and has already received acceptance letters from two Bay area schools. He is awaiting a response from his top choice, Duke University, to which he applied on the recommendation of SF Achievers founder and Duke alumnus, Dr. Henry Safrit. Over the past four years, Dr. Safrit has followed Daniel’s progress, watching him grow from an immature youth into a young man regarded as a dedicated student, respected leader and positive role model.  In fact, Dr. Safrit believes that Daniel is the single strongest candidate to come through the Achievers program in its six-year history, and the first that he has recommended to Duke.

Daniel is the youngest of six children. His parents, Nigerian immigrants, hold low-paying jobs, but have instilled in Daniel and his siblings a desire to improve their lot in life through education, engagement and perseverance. Daniel maintains a rigorous academic schedule, participates in the Debate Club, competes on the basketball team, and plays piano in the school band. One of his Debate Club topics sparked his interest in sociology and criminal justice, subjects he’s now planning to pursue in college. “I want to understand why criminals do the things they do, why they do bad things,” he says. When asked about his careers aspirations, Daniel says, “I’d like to be involved in law enforcement – maybe even the FBI.”

It’s impossible to measure the full impact of SF Achievers on Daniel’s growth and development, but he readily acknowledges the wide range of opportunities and guidance the program’s afforded him. “They’ve helped me with summer jobs, financial aid and scholarship applications, calendar set-up and time management,” he says. Whether he remains in California for college, or heads off to Duke, Daniel will go with a firm foundation and the support of his family and friends at SF Achievers.

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By Adam Ramirez

David Miles was in the pitch blackness. He was in a dark cave in Yosemite with no light and the only way he could navigate out of it was with the help of his fellow San Francisco Achievers. Miles is from the Richmond District in San Francisco — where bears, caves and raccoons aren’t a common occurrence. For Miles and most of the other young men on the SFA Yosemite trip, this was their first time in any kind of wilderness. It was their first time away from the urban streets of San Francisco, first time smelling fresh air and hiking mountain passes. And they needed each other’s help to make their way out of the dark.

David Miles made it out – in a big way. A senior on the cusp of graduating from San Jose State University, Miles is a proud product of San Francisco Achievers.

One of his proudest moments, in fact, was the day he told his parents about the SFA scholarship he received.

“Ever since I was a kid, my parents encouraged me to do well in school with the hopes that one day I would receive a college scholarship,” Miles said. “When I told them about the SFA scholarship, it was one of my proudest moments. We felt like all of the hard work I had done in school had been validated. We were really very happy.” SFA provides mentorship and the opportunity to network with people that care about the success of the students in the program. For Miles, SFA has been a guiding force through is educational journey.

“SFA has been one of the most stable and consistent things in my life,” he said. “I definitely appreciate all of the support SFA has provided me over the years. This has inspired me to be part of a similar organization in the future when I’ve achieved some of the goals I have set for myself.

“Without all of the support that I received from SFA and Meritus, I know that college would have been much more difficult to navigate. This is why I will one day give back and help students who were in my same position.”

For many urban youth, the idea of going to (and paying for) college can seem as far off as the limestone cliffs of Yosemite. Many had never left the city when they found themselves far away from concrete and cell phone coverage. That is why one SFA arranges the Yosemite trip for students. It’s a way to broaden horizons and open up the students’ minds to other possibilities. Plus the students bonded and became closer with each passing day.

“I had an amazing experience being in nature out there with just the other students,” Miles said. “On the first day at Yosemite, I quickly learned that many of them were into rap music, since they would frequently freestyle. They were a lot like me.”

But it wasn’t all campfires and relaxation in Yosemite. The organizers pushed the young men to their limit.

“We all hiked great distances at Yosemite together,” Miles recalled. “We hiked up mountain sides, through rocky terrain and at night when it was pitch black with the threat of bears and raccoons around.

“I remember that one particular cave, it was pitch black. Navigating through the cave took teamwork and was a great bonding experience for all of us as we helped each other overcome this obstacle.”

Miles made it out, and now other young men are following in his SFA footsteps.

If you’d like to help continue this tradition of mentorship and scholarship, we’d encourage you to help in any way you can by clicking here. Whether it is volunteering your time or making a financial contribution, you can be sure the funds will go toward helping other young men like David Miles achieve their life goals.

-Adam Ramirez is an editor of legal content at FindLaw and a former journalist and judicial law clerk. While in school, he too benefited from scholarships aimed at young men with professional aspirations.

By Lynn Jacobs

One of our scholars, Jerry Johnson, recently told us that his ability to succeed had always been doubted; his friends, and even his family members, told him he would drop out of school and do drugs because bad behavior “ran in his blood.” But, Jerry is a young man who thinks positive. “I see that if I am passionate about something, I can complete it no matter the difficulty. If I put in the effort, I’ll have a good outcome,” he says. Those words reflect the hard won maturity of an 18-year-old teen determined to disprove his doubters. Jerry has consistently demonstrated an ability to overcome adversity, to set goals, to work hard — and, perhaps most importantly — to make strong connections with caring adults around him.

Jerry attended nine schools in nine years before arriving as a freshman at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco. Most influential in Jerry’s life at Lincoln were his counselor and his track and field coach. Jerry credits both for “being there for me every day and helping me to stay on track”. Jerry recently graduated from Lincoln, with a 2.8 GPA and hopes to be the first member of his family to earn a college degree. Thanks to a 4-year scholarship from SF Achievers and a few other small scholarships, he will be attending the College of San Mateo in the fall.

Jerry plans to study both business and agriculture in college as he works toward his long-term goal of owning and operating an organic farm. When asked if he is nervous about going to college, Jerry answered, “No, I’m not nervous. I know it will be hard work, but not work I can’t handle.” Thus far, he’s proven that he can handle just about anything, so there’s little doubt that this SF Achiever will continue to conquer every challenge that comes his way.