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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,14 JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2020 BTR
Growing up in the
south Bronx, Santos
didn’t envision a path to
higher education. While
he was never involved
in drugs or criminal activity,
he said that it was
just an environment
where few people opted
to go to college.
His parents Felisa
and Eddie are from Mexico
and were not aware
of the job world for their
son, he explained. Furthermore,
they didn’t
have much money, so
secondary education was
tough to think about.
“I thought I wasn’t going
to have the opportunity
to do anything,” he
said. “I didn’t really have
many aspirations for myself.”
But, everything
changed in sixth grade
when his English teacher
recommended him for
BTNY. Santos recalls
that his whole mindset
changed after he was introduced
to the program.
They showed him
there is a life outside
of the south Bronx. He
told the Bronx Times
he always thought private
schools and boarding
schools were for rich
kids.
His life revolved
around the city but with
guidance from BTNY,
he made the leap to go to
Tabor. While it was a big
culture shock, it was a
worthwhile experience.
Heading into his
sophomore year in high
school he met Carina
Cruz, of BTNY, who has
worked with Santos the
past few years. Cruz, 24,
helped Santos selected
Ithaca for college, where
he plans to study biology.
Santos explained that
his parents always have
supported him emotionally,
but he owes a great
deal of gratitude to BTNY
for helping him get this
far. The program taught
him to take the initiative
in life and be proactive.
“I feel like they really
care,” he remarked. “I
looked up to them a lot.
I feel like Breakthrough
defi nitely pushed me in
the right direction.”
His 14-year-old sister
Anna is also working
with BTNY.
Cruz has only been
working for BTNY for a
few years but she is an
alumnus of the program.
When she fi rst met
Santos, she recalled that
he he came across as a
“sweet kid.” He told her
how it was diffi cult at
fi rst being a kid from the
south Bronx in a boarding
school.
As they got to know
each other, she realized
he had a desire to go to
college and she assisted
him with the application
process. However,
Santos was under the
misconception that he
needed a 4.0 grade point
average to get into a
good school. She quickly
alleviated his fears and
told him not to worry.
As his parents are not
native English speakers,
Cruz helped him with
the fi nancial aid papers
and selecting Ithaca.
She became close with
his family and was even
invited to his sister’s
Quinceañera.
“I empowered Eddie
to make sure he
knew enough information,”
she said. “Meeting
students like Eddie
made me want to stay in
BTNY. They triggered
my passion for education.”
BY JASON COHEN
In a few months, Eddie
Santos will be the fi rst in
his family to attend college,
and the youngster
credits his success to
nonprofi t Breakthrough
New York (BTNY).
BTNY is a 10-year nonprofi
t college access program
for students from
impoverished communities.
Its services include
a summer academic and
enrichment program, after
school tutoring, test
prep and high school and
college admissions guidance.
About 30 percent
of the organization’s 500
students are from the
Bronx and the support
they provide has continued
amid the pandemic.
Melrose resident Santos,
18, just completed
his senior year at Tabor
Academy, a boarding
school in Massachusetts,
and is now home before
he begins at Ithaca College
in the fall. He has received
education support
services for the last seven
years from BTNY and remote
support while he
has been away at boarding
school and during
the pandemic.
“I didn’t really want
to do it BTNY at fi rst,”
Santos said. “Ever since
then, it has been a whole
different lifestyle.” Eddie Santos of Melrose, who will be the fi rst in his family to
go to college, talks about his work with BTNY.
Courtesy of Eddie Santos
The road to college
Nonprofi t continues supporting BX kids during COVID
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