FUERZA SANTA CRUZ
Assisting Latino/a/x Youth on the Path to Higher Education
At Fuerza , we are strong believers in the ability of our youth to succeed. Our goal for this website is to provide resources and tips for Latinx youth on their path to higher education. No estan solos. We strive to achieve equity within our communities.
ABOUT US
Fuerza's mission is to assist Latinx students achieve the goal of Higher Education. We are dedicated to assist the future leaders in our communities in any way we can. We seek to provide a one stop website where students can obtain the resources and information needed to get on the path to a UC and/or CSU.
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RESOURCES
This section provides resources that will help High School students get on the path to Higher Education.
FUTBOL DE PLAYA PARA LA JUVENTUD
March 26th 2022- End of summer
Fuerza will be holding free beach soccer for the youth every Friday from 4-6pm all Spring and through the summer. This will be located at main beach (Boardwalk beach in front of the Haunted castle). To sign up please call or text (831) 222-0443.
MUTUAL AID HOLIDAY DRIVE
Deadline to assist December 16th
In collaboration with Blended Bridge, the Mutual Aid Holiday Drive aims to help underserved communities in Santa Cruz. We are living in unprecedented times and many families are struggling to make ends meet and provide essentials. We have an opportunity to help elevate our community and make the holidays extra special. You can help provide mutual aid to a family, donate, or purchase a gift. We cannot express how excited we are for this event. 🤩 Please join us in making children’s holiday wishes come true!
APPLY TO A UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HERE!
October 12, 2020
This Link will take you to the University of California Website where you can begin your application for any University of California (UC)
Application period Fall 2021 Applicants:
November 1st, 2020 - November 31st, 2020
APPLY TO A CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY HERE!
October 12, 2020
This link will direct you to California State University website where can apply to California State Universities. Once you make an account you will be able to see what majors each University has to offer.
Deadline for Fall 2021 applicants:
December 4th, 2020.
GET ON TRACK WITH THE 4 YEAR ACADEMIC PLANNER
July 10th 2020
This link will take you to a pdf of a 4 year planner. The planner is intended to assist High School students track and manage their A-G Requirements. The PDF briefly explains the A-G Requirements. In essence, the A-G Requirements are the classes that a High School Student needs to take in order to meet the minimum requirements to apply to a CSU or UC.
FIND OUT WHAT A-G COURSES YOUR HIGH SCHOOL OFFERS!
July 10th 2020
This link will direct you to a useful website where you can look up the A-G classes a specific High School offers. This will be very helpful when working on a 4 year academic (high school) plan.
SIGN UP FOR THE SAT!
July 10th 2020
This link will direct you to the website where you can sign up for the SAT. This test is usually required, but has been suspended for UC's and CSU's due to Covid-19. (Not required if applying for Fall 2021-2022). Before paying the fee, please contact your High School Counselor. You may qualify for a fee waiver. Many schools do not utilize all of their waivers so make sure to ask your counselor. If you are having trouble paying the fee, email us to see if you qualify for the Fuerza Latinx fee waiver.
CSU RESPONSE TO COVID (SAT/ACT)
July 12, 2020
Click this link to read more on CSU's response to Covid-19 and the suspension of the SAT and ACT for 2021-2022 applicants.
UC'S SUSPEND STANDARIZED TESTING UNTIL 2024
July 12, 2020
Click this link to read more on the UC system's decision to suspend SAT/ACT test requirements until 2024.
SRO'S OUT OF PVUSD!
7-24-2020
Pajaronian article on the decision to permanently end the SRO program throughout PVUSD. This came after the community stepped up and voiced their negative experiences with SRO's . Great effort by the community to push the board to end this program.
FIELDS OF DREAMS
July 26 2020
Clink the link to check out a film directed by Watsonville born and raised Carlos Campos. We retrieved the film from the Watsonville Film Festival. The film will stream free all week.The film asks us : How important are soccer fields for our youth? Is there enough public access to athletic fields? And who makes the decisions?
FUERZA'S 4-YEAR ACADEMIC PLAN
July 31st 2020
Clinking on the link will take you to the Fuerza's Academic 4-Year Planner. Complete the 4-year planner and send it to us at Fuerzalatinx@gmail.com to enter for a chance to win a Chromebook! Deadline to enter the giveaway is Monday, September 7th.
MEET THE TEAM
NOE CRUZ
Shaping the Leaders of Tomorrow
My name is Noe Cruz and I am a first gen Latino graduate. I graduated with my bachelors in communications studies while completing my complimentary studies in health education. Grade school came easy to me but upon entering college it was a completely new thing for me. I bounced around from major and major not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I had completed my general Ed at the time and was looking to transfer out to a CSU. I decided to make an appointment with a counselor and he told me that with my GPA I wouldn’t get anywhere because it was so low. That didn’t stop me from applying to schools and luckily I was accepted into San Francisco State! Once I got there everything changed, me puse las pilas and even made deans list my senior year while working two jobs, taking 18 units per semester and commuting from Santa Cruz to San Francisco with 4 to 5 hours of sleep. Now that I have graduated from State I want to pursue my masters degree in a health care related field either doing an Entry level Masters of Science in Nursing or attending PA school, or heck why not maybe even apply for Med school! Because if you can achieve something as huge as a BA, than imagine how much more you can achieve with all the knowledge you have gained thus far!
ISABEL CORRALES
Shaping the Leaders of Tomorrow
Hello my name is Isabel. I am a first gen Chicana, daughter of farmworkers, born and raised in Watsonville. I am excited to be apart of Fuerza Latinx and be able to assist students through the path of higher education or reach other dreams they may have for their future. Too often our brown youth is purposely educationally neglected and instead are driven towards the school to prison pipeline. I hope, with the help of Fuerza Latinx and our community, to break that school to prison pipeline. As a mother, I want my son to know he can achieve his dreams regardless of what society paints him out to be. Every brown youth has the right to education, a right to pursue their dreams and that’s what Fuerza Latinx is all about
SORAYA LUGO
Building a Better Future
Hola! My name is Soraya, and I could not be more excited to be joining Latinx and collaborate with such a great group of people working to make a positive change. I was a Cabrillo College student for several years before now transferring to UC Santa Cruz. This group’s focus in helping Latinx youth succeed in their education is admirable and needed. I am happy to be joining, and thank you for the opportunity!
ZULEMA GONZALEZ
Making a Difference One Child at a Time
Hola! My name is Zulema and I am so happy to be joining Latinx! As a Santa Cruz native, I would like to be part of the movement and fight for a more diverse/equally represented Santa Cruz. My goal through Latinx and to la comunidad, is to get more educational opportunities for BIPOC kids as well as breaking the cycle on more education, not incarceration. Thank you for letting me join and I can’t wait to work with you guys!
OSCAR CORCOLES
Making a Difference One Child at a Time
My name is Oscar Corcoles, soy Chicano, and i am a first generation college graduate. I received my Bachelors degree in Sociology from UC Merced in 2017, and my Masters in Education with a concentration in Equity and Social Justice from San Francisco State in the Spring of 2020. As a first generation student I noticed many flaws within the K-12 education system that puts many Latino/a/x students at a disadvantage when it comes to Higher Eduction. This is what has led me to create this website where we can assist Latino/a/x students by providing resources , links, tips and potentially scholarships in the near future. The email in the "contact us" section has been created to answer any questions. Thank you. Si se puede !
CONTACT US
Interested in getting involved with Fuerza Latinx and discovering more about our work? Contact us today and see what we have to offer!