Susan F. Bohrer
Merced, CA
I started a tutorial program and later worked as a social work intern in a middle school where 70% of the students lived in poverty; 80% belonged to minority populations. From the teachers I learned that college was for other kids, and from the students I learned that it didn’t matter. These children were seen as hopeless, and so they lost hope. At that time, 2007, only 4% of the community attended a four year college. This figure reflects that internalized beliefs that racism breeds, and the impediments to education that it brings.
