Enrique Ojeda
Enrique’s introduction to Youth Alliance was through a highschool support group. He wanted to be involved in as many positive activities as possible, and to participate in football and wrestling despite his physical and economic barriers. With the support from YA’s staff, he did not only participate in both sports but continued to do so all 4 years of highschool while participating in YA’s programs as a member, a volunteer, and mentor. He maintained a 3.55 GPA and passed multiple AP tests. Enrique was awarded more scholarships than any other student in his school year. Enrique graduated with a bachelors in education and linguistics from the University of California Riverside. Since graduating Enrique has been working as a teacher in training with the plan to soon enroll in graduate school to obtain his masters to become a full time elementary school teacher for a dual language academy. During his time at UC Riverside Enrique was involved in multiple organizations, worked as a community outreach assistant/manager for a nonprofit, became a USIBA academic all american, worked as a behavioral interventionist for students on the spectrum all while being on the dean's list. Enrique credits his success and ventures to his time in GUIAS and continued mentorship from David Gutierez.
“One of the best memories that I had with the group and Mr.G is when we went to visit Stanford University. Taking a tour at Stanford made me realize that college was not something that I could take lightly. I had to work hard and be dedicated in order to someday attend a four year university. Without visiting Stanford I sincerely believe that I may have not taken high school academics as serious. Not only has GUIAS helped me become more vocal in expressing my opinion, but it has also helped me become more involved in the community. Without GUIAS and Mr.G I think that I would have never been involved in Tech Wizards* which was the best volunteer experience that I had throughout high school. Due to being involved in GUIAS throughout my four years of high school I believe that my high school experience has been a lot better than what it may have been if I had not been involved in GUIAS and Mr.G’s group.”
-Enrique Ojeda