Thank you, SOY: Letters from alumni

Editor's note: The following are from the SOY Scholarship Program alumni. Minimal edits have been made to preserve the writers' voices as it originally appeared at a December fundraiser.

Dear Guest,

First allow me to thank you for attending this event. My name is Juan Miguel and I am a former student of the SOY program. SOY to me was many things. It was the place where I would go do my homework after school. It was the reason I was so successful in my academics.

SOY was the place I would go socialize with my friends. SOY is the place where I met important people whom I built long-lasting relationships with. SOY was the reason I gave back to the community.

SOY is the reason that I know how to sail a boat and it is the reason I am educated about living a healthy lifestyle. SOY was the reason for many good aspects in my life and the list goes on but most importantly, SOY is the reason that I am in college today, attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, soon to graduate with a major in architectural engineering.

By far the most memorable experience from SOY was the weeklong field trip we took to visit college campuses in Northern California. The trip took place the summer of 2006, but I remember one day in particular: the day we visited Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. At the time I did not know what school I wanted to go to, but I already had an idea of what I wanted to major in. I had never heard of Cal Poly until that day.

I remember that out of all the schools we visited, that was the only school that we didn't have an official tour guide. We walked around reading the names of the buildings, trying to figure out all the departments of the school and picking up pamphlets to figure out the majors that they offered. Even though we had no one to officially show us around, as soon as I stepped foot on that campus and saw the architecture building, I instantly fell in love with it and that's when I knew that Cal Poly was the school I wanted to go to.

That experience went beyond the visit to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The real experience took place with Trevor, Silvia, and the rest of the amazing staff at SOY who made my dream of attending Cal Poly a reality through all their motivation and support.