Our annual Family Night dinner was held on May 4th, 2017. The families of Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano put together this special dinner to show our appreciation for our generous supporters.

Director Victor Cota started off the evening with a warm welcome and introduced 7th grader Edgar Arteaga. As he stood with confidence, Edgar shared how his family’s background became his motivation to join Breakthrough. He declared, “I plan to—no! I will be a first generation college student. I want to do what my parents never finished. They began college, I will finish it. I will go to a university.”

After Edgar’s incredibly passionate speech, our guests were able to help themselves to dinner. The dinner was graciously provided by the families of our Breakthrough students. While everyone was enjoying their meal, they were treated to two performances by our talented middle school students. Candice Cabezas, Juliana Alcala, and Olivia Heim sang a family-friendly version of Cee-lo Green’s “Forget You” while Candice played the ukulele. Sofia Mack and Linda Galvan then beautifully played Leo Delibes’ “Flower Duet” on their violins.

As the event continued, 12th grader Ariana Vargas shared her experience as a Breakthrough student. She stated, “Breakthrough’s encouragement throughout the summers and school years made me believe that I could build a future for myself, I shouldn’t settle for less and that I needed to work harder. Attending college became my ultimate goal.” Ariana proudly announced that she will be attending the University of California, Irvine in the fall.

Our final speaker for the evening was Mr. Luis Barrera, who is the father of two Breakthrough students. Mr. Barrera described his humble background and his hopes for his daughters’ futures. He also gave a sincere thank you to our supporters. He said, “Thank you Breakthrough Team and especially all of you for supporting us. Because without you, Breakthrough doesn’t exist… My daughters are going to graduate college, start their careers, and then they are going to help others. They will take what Breakthrough has given them, and give it back to others. When I look at my daughters, I think of being 15 years old in Aguascalientes, Mexico and wishing that I had Breakthrough and the opportunities to get a higher education.”

Family Night was truly an event to remember. The evening was filled with engaging conversations, heartwarming speeches, delicious food, and amazing performances by our very own students. To all of our supporters, thank you for all that you do!

BREAKTHROUGH  HELPS  UNDERREPRESENTED  STUDENTS  IN  HIGHER  EDUCATION

Translations / Traducciónes