Mentoring program helps lowincome
high school students
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A 36 UGUST 9-15, 2019 BTR
Adrianna Adiles (r) and her sister Leilani both are benefi tting from Student
Sponsor Partners’ guidance. Photo courtesy of SSP
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BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
Students at 11 borough
private schools will be provided
with scholarships and a
mentor for four years of high
school through a well-established
program called Student
Sponsored Partners.
SSP serves 1,200 students
every year, with approximately
62 percent of its cohort
from the borough, said Debra
Vizzi, the program’s executive
director, who is also its fi rst
graduate.
SSP specifi cally hones in
students with average grades,
B and C grades, who are from
families with a per capita income
of $6,500 to $9,000 per
year, said Vizzi.
These are the students who
are most often left behind, and
who could use support, explained
Vizzi.
Vizzi said that individuals
donate the tuition and mentors
who volunteer their time
to be of guidance to the high
school aged kids.
Mentors work with these
young people through what
can be their most formative
years, she said.
“One capable adult can
save a life and we get to see
change and growth year after
year,” said Vizzi.
She encourages youngsters
and their families who are interested
to visit the organization’s
website and submit an
application.
“We found that anyone who
is willing can succeed,” said
Vizzi. “Families should apply
for scholarships because we
have 300 to give away every
year.”
The program’s founder,
Peter Flanigan, was the fi rst
adult that Vizzi said she could
trust when she fi rst met him 40
years ago and he offered to pay
for her education in a Soundview
school and guide her.
Currently, SSP sponsors
students at the Academy of
Mount St. Ursula, All Hallows
High School, Aquinas High
School, Cardinal Hayes High
School, Monsignor Scanlan
High School, Mount St. Michael
Academy, Preston High
School, St. Barnabas High
School, St. Catharine Academy,
St. Raymond Academy
and St. Raymond High School
for Boys.
Parkchester resident Adrianna
Adiles, 16, who attends
the Academy of Mount St. Ursula,
said that she saw the benefi
ts of the program through
her older sister, Leilani.
Adiles, who went to P.S. 72
and P.S. 83 before she went to
high school, said that as one of
four children, the SSP scholarship
was very important to her
attending a private school.
After entering Ursula, she
became involved in several
clubs, including United Nations
and Science clubs.
Her mentor, who along with
other people at SSP, provided
support and dealt with concerns,
most recently reviewing
her college essay and helped
her go on visits to colleges.
“They are supposed to
help you with issues concerning
academics or if you want
an internship or job; they are
a helping hand and can give
you support,” she said of her
mentor and the program in
general. “It is nice to have another
person who you can give
you support from who is not in
your family.”
Her sister was able to stay
in touch with SSP and get
guidance even after she graduated
from Ursula and went to
college at SUNY Binghamton,
said Adiles.
Adiles is thinking of pursuing
a career in the medical
fi eld, and is looking at a
number of colleges, including
S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook.
To learn more about SSP,
visit sspnyc.org.
/sspnyc.org