Pescadero’s High School graduation is the biggest community event of the year. It feels like a rock concert at the gym. But sitting in the bleachers back in 2009, something started to bother Carol Young-Holt. It was the fact that, as certain students were singled out and applauded for academic achievements, three-quarters of the graduating class sat there without hearing their names. Young-Holt, a founding supporter of Puente, knew how many of those students had worked at Puente over the years, struggling to support their families with part-time jobs and also finish high school. “Not all the kids at Pescadero High School are at the top of their class. There are kids for whom simply graduating is a huge achievement,” she says. Many of those youth had been working since puberty and still managed to be the first in their families – often, recent immigrants – to obtain a diploma. Young-Holt, a longtime Puente board member, founded the Puente Youth Bridges Scholarships to honor students who had done double duty, earning a salary at Puente while earning that degree. Eleven students in this year’s graduating class earned Puente scholarships, cumulatively worth $3,350. It’s the biggest crop of scholarships ever awarded since the scholarship was established in 2009 – a point of pride for Young-Holt, who raises the money from local … Continue reading Record number of graduates receive Puente Youth Bridges Scholarships