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Gateway to College Celebrates Graduates
June 2016
At the Gateway to College graduation, student Alexis Soto spoke about facing and overcoming challenges during her high school years, which led her to the program.
Alexis had initially had some medical issues that led her to fall behind in school. After moving, and being homeless for a period of time, she had trouble catching up to her class and was no longer able to make up credits and graduate on time. This led her to find out about Gateway.
She said for many of the students traditional high school did not work out, but the Gateway program offered them a second chance.
“You have instilled a new drive and passion about our education in each of us that will continue on in our future endeavors,” Alexis said. “We have worked hard to be where we are, (we should) always be thankful and humble, but also prideful of the work we have accomplished,” she said.
Her speech was so moving, she was invited to speak to the Uxbridge School Committee about her experience.
Gateway to College hosted its graduation on May 26, with 23 graduates finishing the program this year.
Jenna Glazer, Resource Specialist, Gateway to College, said this was the fourth graduating class and the largest for the program.
Students hail from all over Central Massachusetts, this class included residents of Worcester, Holden, Bellingham, Hudson, Sturbridge, Rutland, Shrewsbury, Auburn, Marlborough, Sutton, Clinton, Westborough, and West Boylston.
The Gateway to College program helps students who have dropped out of high school or who may not graduate. Through our program, students can obtain their high school diploma and earn college credits at the same time. Many graduates go on to finish AA degrees and transfer to four-year colleges.
Kelsea Flynn will attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Faith Poirier will attend UMASS Amherst, Kendra Granberry will attend UMASS Boston and Meghan Sendrowski will attend Salve Regina University in Rhode Island in the fall.
Kelsea and Kendra both graduated from the Gateway program in the fall and earned their associate’s degrees in the spring, Kelsea with an associate’s degree in general studies with Highest Honors and Kendra with an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts with High Honors.
Most of the other graduates are matriculating at QCC to complete their associate degrees in arts or science.
