Good evening! My name is Clarissa Caballero and I am currently a member of the Class of 2015 at Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School and I’m pleased to be able to share my story today.

When I got accepted into Rangel I was only 11 years old and the last thing on my mind was COLLEGE. I was living my life day by day anticipating the next episode of Hannah Montana and waiting anxiously to go out for recess just as every 5th
grader does; little did I know that becoming a part of the Rangel community would change my life immensely. I could have easily gone to any comprehensive school but I didn’t, thanks to my parents’ yearning hope for me to receive a quality
education they weren’t as blessed to attain.

Throughout the course of the 6 years I’ve been at Rangel I have been exposed to so many things I probably wouldn’t have experienced had it not been for the Foundation for the Education of Young Women. I, along with my 533 sisters, have been able to attend a camp every summer since our journey at Rangel began- free. of. charge. I have had the opportunity to get a gist of what it’s like to be a college student by attending SMU and TWU for a couple of days, I’ve had SAT coaches,
and the best part of all is that I have the most amazing college bound advisor. Thanks to the support of the FEYW, it has been through these camps that I have learned to not only mature as a young woman but to also set high expectations for myself in order to succeed.

Although juggling with AP courses, Academic Decathlon, National Honor Society, and babysitting can be quite difficult to handle all at once, I feel well prepared to take on any challenges that may arise.

Being able to attend a school where I’m not just another name on a roster has allowed me to value my education because I’m always encouraged to take on the world and become something bigger than myself. I really appreciate the FEYW for supporting me because even though I am a minority in a society where women are underrepresented, they have created a vast world of opportunities and a sense of relief and hope for becoming something great in life and I believe everything will pay off in the end.

I am no longer that 5th grader that had no thoughts of becoming something great. Thanks to the Foundation, my college bound advisor, and everyone standing by to guide me I have realized that although I am a girl today, I know I’ll be a woman tomorrow and a leader forever.

Thank you.