THE 2023 SAN MARCOS RISING STARS STUDENTS AIM HIGH

WRITTEN BY REBECCA JEFFERIS WILLIAMSON | PHOTOS COURTESY OF LISA STOUT

Apromise made. A promise kept. The San Marcos Promise program helps deliver information and ways to succeed to San Marcos Unified School District high schoolers.

Senior Kelly Amador Villarreal, as one of the program’s ambassadors, shares the San Marcos Promise message with fellow students.

“Our ambassadors serve as our voices, eyes and ears on campus,” said San Marcos Promise Executive Director Lisa Stout.

“Kelly is one of our ambassadors at Mission Hills High School,” said Stout, who describes her as a “quiet leader — one who will do great things.”

The organization assists students at other schools in the district, as well.

Stout noted that the program helps students find scholarships and provides additional opportunities that help them prepare for college.

Along the way, Amador Villarreal, 17, who will be attending University of California, Irvine, (UCI) as a political science major, was granted $17,500 in scholarships. She will attend orientation at UCI this summer.

Amador Villarreal wanted to extend her thanks to the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, Rising Stars and AVID groups, among others, for the scholarships they awarded to her.

“I started in my senior year but joined the program (San Marcos Promise) in my junior year,” said Amador Villarreal, who attended meetings and events on the group’s behalf.

“My AVID teacher, Jamie Yorba, always helped me find answers to questions I had,” she said, crediting her mentors.

AVID, which stands for “Advancement Via Individual Determination,” is a college-prep program that assists firstgeneration, low-income students in becoming college-ready and being accepted by a college.

San Marcos Promise is an educational foundation and 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2014, but active the last four years, according to Stout. The program has received the inaugural community-based organization of the year award by the San Diego County O ce of Education.

Amador Villarreal credits the organization with “opening up connections,” among other benefits.

After completing her college undergraduate work, she plans to attend law school and work in the field of immigration law.

Amador Villarreal, who has three younger siblings, is the first college-bound student in her family. Her mother is from Mexico, and her father is from the U.S.

After learning she was accepted to UCI, her family bought T-shirts and other school spirit items to show o their school pride and celebrate.