Program Helps Compton Students Prepare for College Amid Admissions Scandal
Zarina Khairzada | Jun. 18, 2019 10:26 AM PT
For more than 20 rising students in Compton’s Unified School District who are busy planning and preparing for their futures, going to college offers better opportunities and a potential gateway to a dream job.
One of those rising seniors — Christian Rosa — will be the first generation in his family to go to college.
“It makes me feel proud that I’m coming from a family that didn’t have opportunities in where they were before, but now that we are here, they are giving me opportunities for me to improve my education,” Rosa said.
Rosa wants to continue his education as a pre-med student and apply to colleges like Columbia University, New York University, and some of California’s universities.
That’s why he, alongside 20 other rising seniors in the district, came to a Command Education booster event that’s offering free guidance for students in the district preparing for college. But the recent college admissions scandals, which alleged wealthy parents were bribing administrators at private and Ivy League schools to get their children admitted, has become a concern for students like Rosa who is focused on his education.
“It could affect me in a way which would take an opportunity away. But honestly, I feel that if I present myself and work on my application, I will stand out,” Rosa said.
That’s why he’s committing to Command Education’s six-week college readiness course. The course will guide him in writing his college essays and help him identify and apply to his top three schools with the help of counselors. Christopher Rim is the CEO and founder of Command Education. As a 23-year-old Yale graduate, he said the bribes can undercut the hard work students like Rosa put in.
“The students that we work with at Command Education work incredibly hard all throughout their high school careers and of course throughout the summers. So to see that people have cheated their ways into schools is really disappointing and upsetting to not only my team, but to the students. Because they are the ones doing all this hard work,” Rim said.
Rosa said he won’t let people cheating the system take away the future he’s spending this summer preparing for.
“It’s just good to know that a lot of us are doing it the correct way,” he said.
Rosa is hoping to complete his education and come back to the city of Compton to become a doctor and take care of the community that raised him.
Originally published in Spectrum News on June 18, 2019.