Dear
Friends,
In our
last letter, we spoke of our fifteen EE kids currently in college or
other post-high school educational programs, and we celebrated Marlene
Samano Ramirez and Josh Rodriquez, our two recent Master’s degree
graduates.
The
groundwork for this kind of achievement is laid early in every Exceeding
Expectations kid’s life. It starts with a commitment to the program:
training and racing, and the understanding that they will
graduate from high school and, with EE’s help, continue on to higher
education. Along the way, we celebrate all academic accomplishments.
Yoselin
Canseco is the first in her family to graduate from high school and to
attend college. She will be running track for San Bernardino Valley
College. She’s already selected her classes for fall quarter, a full
schedule, and is looking forward to her freshman year. (Her younger
sister Gaby will be following in Yoselin’s footsteps in a couple of
years.)
Arian
Mayorga (second from left) has been with EE since he was a first grader.
He is the first of his family to graduate from high school. Arian will
also be running track for San Bernardino Valley College, and he’s
getting a jump on his freshman year academics by taking several college
classes this summer. His two younger brothers, Ahris and Aramiz, are
working hard to be just as successful.
Fernanda
Alvarez graduated from high school with high honors and will be
attending San Diego State University. Fernanda has an older brother and
sister, both EE members, who are currently in college and a cousin in a
nursing program. But she is the first in this large, extended family to
leave home for her college years. She has already had on-campus
orientation and is eager to get moving on this big, exciting step.
Jose
Olivares (left) and Ahris Mayorga (second from right) graduated from
middle school and are headed to high school where our expectations for
them are high!
_________________
We just
kicked off our regular Summer Run/Bike training program. As most of you
know, athletics is the vehicle we use to help our kids move their lives
in a positive direction. Some of the kids will be challenging themselves
by running up to 10 miles, trying to earn a coveted slot to the
Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) triathlon in San Diego in October.
Many will also be preparing for the October Tram Challenge and everyone
will be training for our next triathlon.
Lee and I
both had COVID and were unable to be present at the summer kick-off on
June 12, so EE had another first: The session was run by two veteran EE
kids, Archi Lai and Isi Ibarra (left, and second from right). How’s that
for stepping up!
Lee and I
got better quickly and were back this past Sunday.
Getting to compete for
a slot to CAF's "Greatest Day in Tri"
Afterwards, some of
the kids did bike training in preparation for our next triathlon.
The USA
Triathlon Foundation has long supported EE and this year selected EE as
a recipient of a Pillar Grant, which serves to encourage, inspire and
ignite participation in the sport of triathlon. We’re honored to
receive this grant and the kids will be working hard to meet their
personal athletic goals.
_______________
As always
when we see our kids succeed, we never forget that none of these
accomplishments would be possible without you and the generous support
you’ve given us over the years. We are grateful to each of you and hope
you recognize these kids’ successes as your return on investment.
Thank you
all.
-Cherie