Commentary: Guadalupe Center donors create summer academy for college exploration trips
Two longtime supporters of the Guadalupe Center have established an annual program to send Immokalee High School students on college exploration trips every summer.
Bunny and Charles Salisbury, generous supporters and volunteers of the Guadalupe Center since 2006, have established the E.G. Salisbury Tutor Corps Summer Academy. Rising juniors and seniors in Guadalupe Center’s college preparatory program will benefit this summer from expense-paid college visits to participate in academic programs ranging from two to six weeks in duration.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for these students to complete an extended college orientation program, see the layout of a college campus, talk to students and staff, and even sit in on some college classes,” said Jorge Perez, Guadalupe Center’s Tutor Corps college coordinator. “Most college orientation tours only last a few hours, so they’ll get to experience what it’s really like to be a college student.”
Through the program, students visit top colleges and universities across the country, including Brown, Connecticut, Florida Gulf Coast, Marquette, Pennsylvania, Union, Villanova and others. Academic programs cover a variety of college life experiences in addition to specific topics like business, medicine, leadership, engineering and other potential college majors.
“Our students lack the financial resources to take these out-of-area college exploration trips, so the Summer Academy is providing an opportunity for them to see college campuses, attend classes, explore possible majors and meet one-on-one with university representatives,” Perez said. “Where you attend college, and what major you choose, is a huge decision in their lives. Bunny and Charles’ commitment to the Tutor Corps program ensures students aren’t making those decisions solely based on brochures and website content.”
Tutor Corps student Christian Soriano-Reyes travels this summer to Syracuse University for a program covering forensic science. He is hoping to use the summer trip to help decide future career and college options, and is grateful to the Saliburys.
“They are helping to better the lives of teenagers from an impoverished town by allowing them to get a glimpse of what the world has in store for them,” Soriano-Reyes said.
Charles Salisbury served as a Guadalupe Center trustee from 2007-13; Bunny Salisbury has been a trustee since 2014. She also is a founding member of Guadalupe Center’s Advisory Board, a three-time event chairwoman and helped form and fund the successful Tutor Corps program. Charles established the Summer Academy program in 2017 to honor his wife of 52 years.
Karen Reyes-Santos will be attending a three-week academic program at Brown University, where she hopes to discover potential career opportunities and learn more about herself. It will be the first time she’s been on an airplane or away from her family for more than a few days. She’s spoken with other Tutor Corps students who rave about the summer program.
“They tell me it is an experience that I will never forget, that I will grow and realize parts of myself that I didn’t know before, and overall that it will be so much fun and one of the most enriching experiences I could have,” Reyes-Santos said.
Guadalupe Center’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty through education for the children of Immokalee. The Summer Academy is a key component of Tutor Corps, a college preparatory program that has a 100 percent success rate for college admissions. Tutor Corps students must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average, and each student is matched with an adult mentor to offer guidance and support. Guadalupe Center Tutor Corps team members also offer guidance on the college application, scholarship and financial aid processes, as well as SAT and ACT prep.
Montecalvo is president of Guadalupe Center, a nonprofit organization with a mission of breaking the cycle of poverty through education for the children of Immokalee.
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