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For Dennys Tamayo, 35, higher education always felt out of reach, and her dream of working in medicine nearly impossible. The Redwood City nonprofit Upward Scholars, which helps adults from low-income backgrounds continue their education and better their careers, changed her mind.
Tamayo left Mexico at 19 and began to send money home to her siblings and mother, who had cancer.
“The situation over there in my country wasn’t really the best,” Tamayo said. “and still is not.”
Her first job in the U.S. was at Wendy’s, then as a cleaner, then as a babysitter. One family she tended to saw potential in her and recommended she return to school.
Tamayo has always loved learning, so much so that she would beg her mother to go to school even in the rain. However, earning a GED in the U.S. felt out of reach. She said she tried twice but didn’t follow through either time because she had “too much going on.”
On her third try, in 2023, Tamayo re-enrolled at San Mateo Adult and Career Education and earned her GED in under two months, she said. She then started her first classes at College of San Mateo.
“It was really hard,” she said, adding that she cried on her first day. “Everything is so different than what I was used to back in my country.”
Although she could speak English, she never took a formal English course and wasn’t used to the technical words she encountered in class. The family that encouraged her to go back to school connected her with Upward Scholars.
Tamayo, who is Interested in a career in medicine, received Upward Scholars’ support for her prerequisite CPR certification and the portion of her college tuition not covered by a state program.
The nonprofit has also gifted Tamayo money for expensive books, gas and food, which has helped her stay afloat as a student.
“Just knowing that they’re there for you makes you feel better,” Tamayo said. “It gives you the energy to be like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna do this.’”
Tamayo said her dream is to provide culturally competent care to Hispanic patients, since she knows what it’s like to attend medical appointments in the U.S. with limited English fluency or understanding of the American medical system. She said she hopes to work in radiology or pediatrics, helping patients feel more competent and confident, seen and heard.
“I feel like you can make a change and it starts with one person,” Tamayo said, “and then you can be contagious.”
Upward Scholars’ roots
Upward Scholars was started by Elizabeth Weal, an English as a second language teacher at Sequoia District Adult School, who noticed a gap among students who were learning English but didn’t realize community college was available to them.
“For many people, the concept of college seems really out of reach, and that it must be very expensive,” said Anna Dyer, the executive director of Upward Scholars. “A rising tide lifts all boats. How can we raise wellbeing for everybody along the way?”
Upward Scholars, founded in 2009, has helped cover the cost of enrollment, books and tutors for over a decade and has expanded over the years to cover other expenses students need support with. The average participant is 37 years old, Dyer said, and many juggle jobs and children on top of school.
The program expanded its service area in 2019 from one adult school and one community college to all five adult schools in San Mateo County and the three community colleges in the San Mateo County Community College District. Even still, 68% of the program’s students attend Cañada College, Dyer said.
Over the years, the program has become more demographically diverse: roughly 15% of students are from 30 different countries, and about 85% are Latino. Upward Scholars recently hired a Mandarin-Cantonese-English-speaking staff member to serve this newer cohort, while the rest are bilingual Spanish-English speakers.
Dyer is most proud of the economic mobility Upward Scholars makes possible, she said, as higher education in English can give immigrants to the U.S. a leg up. In return, students can vitalize their culture and community by bringing their backgrounds into the workplace and new skills home.
The program has helped entrepreneurs preserve Hispanic heritage; for example, one participant built her own Peruvian pastry business, Manjar Golden Alfajores, to sell alfajores.
“Students inspire each other,” Dyer added, so when lower-income community members see “someone who has a similar story” achieve, that can feel within reach and motivating for them.
Participants’ professional development can also uplift the community as a whole, as shown through TeacherUp, an Upward Scholars initiative that helps students earn a certificate in early childhood education, addressing a county-wide need for more early child care providers.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, California has the highest cost of living in the country, yet over 80% of Upward Scholars’ students make under $35,000 a year, Dyer said. Through economic mobility, Dyer added, students can unlock talents that are “hidden in jobs that don’t allow them to shine.”
Because the program has run for 16 years, Upward Scholars has seen some students advance to master’s programs, while others now have children supported by the program.
“They’re parents. They’re in our children’s schools. They’re our neighbors. They’re our community workers. They’re caregivers in our medical facilities and our senior care,” Dyer said of Upward Scholars’ beneficiaries. “They’re starting businesses, and then they’re getting involved politically… so as they move forward, our whole community moves forward.”
