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Our next English Conversation Club will be in 2025.

Details to come.

Open House & In-person Conversation Club

Upward Scholars hosted our open house and last in-person English Conversation Club of 2024 in November! We unveiled our new office space at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits in Redwood Shores with our amazing community. During the club, volunteers helped students build self-confidence in their English conversation skills via this safe, friendly, and welcoming environment.

Open House & in-person English Conversation Club:

When: Friday, November 1, 2024

Open House: 6 – 7 pm

Conversation Club: 7 – 9 pm

Where: Our NEW office!

330 Twin Dolphin Dr, Redwood City, CA 94065

November 1, 2024

Upward Scholars’ Graduation Celebration 2024

In Spring 2024, Upward Scholars had 34 graduates from Berkeley City College, Cañada College, College of San Mateo, Laney College, Merritt College, and Skyline College.

Students earned certificates of achievement in areas like Preparation for Academic Scholarship and Success (PASS), Accounting, Early Childhood Education, Bilingualism and Biliteracy in English/Spanish, and Esthetics. Nine students earned associate’s degrees in areas such as Early Childhood Education, Business Administration, and Social Work & Human Services.

Our fifth annual virtual Graduation Celebration was a great success! Thank you to our community for joining us in celebrating our students' remarkable achievements. And a huge congratulations to the Class of 2024!

If you were unable to attend or want to share the celebration with others, you can watch it here.

June 23, 2024

Upward Scholars’ Graduation Celebration 2023

In Spring 2023, Upward Scholars had a record-breaking 37 graduates from Berkeley City College, Cañada College, College of San Mateo, Merritt College, Mission College, and Skyline College.

Students earned certificates of achievement in areas like Preparation for Academic Scholarship and Success (PASS), Accounting, Early Childhood Education, Bilingualism and Biliteracy in English/Spanish, and Esthetics. Nine students earned associate’s degrees in areas such as Early Childhood Education, Social Work & Human Services, Business Administration, and Kinesiology.

Our fourth annual virtual Graduation Celebration was a great success! Thank you to our community for joining us in celebrating our students' remarkable achievements. And a huge congratulations to the Class of 2023!

If you were unable to attend or want to share the celebration with others, you can watch it here.

June 18, 2023

Upward Scholars’ Community Conversation provided a virtual update on our impact in 2022, Upward Scholars’ plans for 2023, and, most exciting, a conversation with key community partners about our newest program TeacherUp. The Community Conversation coincided with Teacher Appreciation Week. Coincidence? We think not!

Through TeacherUp and our growing partnerships, Upward Scholars aims to create a robust support structure for adult immigrants pursuing degrees and careers in early childhood education and development. Together, we’re helping students achieve their full potential as educators and gain economic mobility while nurturing the young minds of tomorrow.

Watch the recording here.

May 11, 2023

Upward Scholars’ Graduation Celebration 2022

In Spring 2022, Upward Scholars had a record-breaking 29 graduates! Students earned certificates of achievement in areas like Preparation for Academic Scholarship and Success (PASS), Accounting, Early Childhood Education, Bilingualism and Biliteracy in English/Spanish, and Esthetics. Nine students earned associate’s degrees in areas such as Early Childhood Education, Social Work & Human Services, Business Administration, and Kinesiology.

The third annual virtual Upward Scholars Graduation Celebration was a great success! Thank you to our community for joining us in celebrating our students' remarkable achievements. And a huge congratulations to the Class of 2022!

If you were unable to attend or want to share the celebration with others, you can find the recording here and on the Upward Scholars YouTube channel.

June 19, 2022

Upward Scholars Bridges the Bay Event

In 2010, Upward Scholars began helping adult immigrants transition from adult schools to community colleges so they could expand their education and engage in economic mobility. At that time, we served students graduating from Sequoia Adult School and enrolling at Cañada College in Redwood City. In the past 5 years, we have scaled to work closely with five San Mateo County adult schools and serve students from the three sister colleges at the San Mateo County Community College District (Cañada College, Skyline College, and College of San Mateo). 

In 2021, we initiated our second wave of scaling efforts to expand outside of San Mateo County and into Northern Alameda County. At Upward Scholars Bridges the Bay, Executive Director of Upward Scholars Dr. Linda Prieto and Special Programs Manager Diana Viscarra updated our community on our scaling efforts outside of San Mateo County, our new partnership with the Northern Alameda Adult Education Collective, and what this means for Upward Scholars. Joining them was Berkeley City College Transitions Liaison Midhun Joseph and Upward Scholars student Samsul Sheikh.

Click here to watch the recording and learn about how Upward Scholars is bridging the bay.

March 1, 2022

Upward Scholars’ Graduation Celebration 2021

In Spring 2021, 9 Upward Scholars students earned Associate degrees and 12 were awarded certificates in areas like Early Childhood Education, Inclusion Support, Paralegal, and Bilingualism and Biliteracy.

The second annual Upward Scholars virtual Graduation Celebration was a success! Thank you to everyone that joined us in celebrating our Upward Scholars students' wonderful achievements. And a huge congratulations to all of the graduating students!

If you were unable to attend or want to share the celebration with others, you can find the recording here and on the Upward Scholars YouTube channel.

June 13, 2021

If you missed our "5 de mayo a las 5" Spring event or want to share it with friends and family, click here.

Hear local thought leaders highlight the experiences of Latinx immigrants in San Mateo County during the pandemic.

Local journalist Lorena Domínguez moderated the session. Speakers included Executive Director of Upward Scholars Dr. Linda Prieto, Executive Director of Puente de la Costa Sur Rita Mancera, Vice President of Student Services at Cañada College Dr. Manuel A. Pérez, and two Upward Scholars students — Marta and Josue.

May 5, 2021

Get ready to be inspired! Watch as we hear from and honor our newest graduates in a virtual celebration.

Graduate Stats for 2020:

• Twenty-six graduates from Cañada and Skyline Colleges 

• Ten students received Associate degrees

• Nine students received PASS Language Certificates

• Seven students received vocational certificates

June 14, 2020

If you missed our first Virtual Coffee Chat, brew yourself a cup of joe and watch now!

What you’ll learn:

• How we quickly determined our student needs during the pandemic

• What we’re doing to support them at school, and at home

• First-hand perspectives from several students

• How you can help Upward Scholars continue to support our thriving community

  May 14, 2020