All that was changed by a fledgling Sacramento nonprofit that pairs students with business leader mentors and guarantees them a paid college education at a California State University school. FUTURE Foundation of Sacramento Inc. has just nine participating students, but through fundraisers such as its masquerade ball on Saturday, the organization hopes to offer the opportunity to many more students in coming years.
These days Rubalcaba is motivated to succeed in the classroom, in his personal life and on the baseball field, where he plays third base. He's planning to major in education, get his teacher's credential and then teach and coach baseball for a few years before becoming a vice principal.
The Future Foundation and its president, Ron Miller, who is Rubalcaba's mentor, will be guiding him for years to come. The program's mentoring continues all through college.
Future Foundation "can influence the future by doing it one student at a time," said Miller, president of Loss Recovery Inc., a securities litigation, arbitration, and mediation consulting firm. Numerous mentoring programs of all types exist across the region and nation. Less common are mentoring programs that link community business leaders with high school students. Even more unusual are programs that guarantee admission to and payment for college.
Future Foundation is a bare-bones operation, with no paid staff or office. Its board members serve as the students' mentors.
Mentors and their students keep in touch by e-mail, phone calls and visits. Students share grades and college prep course information, ambitions and everything from family relationship issues to athletic performance and weight.
Wright wants to help the student he's mentoring, Jessica Payne, 16, of Roseville, with her physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Wright talks to her about his business, struggles related to the economy and his responsibilities to his workers, to give her a realistic understanding of a career, setbacks and persistence. "I just want to prepare her for life outside of high school," he said.
Napear, who has been teamed up with 10th-grader Raul Villafuerte since the fall, gets asked to do a lot in the community. But this, he said, "is the most rewarding, most feel-good thing I've ever been involved with."
The mentors' enthusiasm is not lost on their students. Miller, for instance, has made an impression on Rubalcaba.
"He's a successful man," Rubalcaba said. "I want to be successful like him." He also doesn't want to disappoint his mentor.
Payne is a self-motivated, straight-A student, said her mom, Marie. But even so, the program has "meant everything" for the family, the single mother said, adding that she doesn't think she would have been able to pay for her daughter's college education.
Jessica Payne said she's more confident as a result of getting through the long, intimidating selection process and being picked. She's also pushing herself even harder at school. She hopes she can motivate other young people to have faith and persevere.
For an organization to help students get into college and also pay for it is "fantastic," said Billy Downing, Western regional director for The Edge College and Career Network LLC, a for-profit company that counsels students preparing for college.
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