Student Corner – How College Success Programs Help Students In College

Yibelis Pena graduated Salem High School in 2010 and North Shore Community College in 2012 and will be attending Northeastern University in the Fall of 2012 as a transfer student.  Yibelis was a speaker at the Great Expectations Event and spoke about the value of college success programs in support students through graduation.  Yibelis received generous scholarships from Northeastern and the Steven Phillips Scholarship.

Good evening!

I would like to start off by congratulating both the high school and college class of 2012 on your success.

I am Yibelis Pena and I graduated from Salem High School in 2010. Although I am a very good student, I did not get very good grades in high school. I did not know how to find and use my resources wisely. After high school, I went on to attend North Shore Community College because I knew it was an inexpensive option and I would have a chance to improve my GPA. At North Shore Community College I received my Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. This fall I will be attending Northeastern University to obtain my bachelors and eventually my masters in child psychology. As a result of the help I received from Salem CyberSpace I applied to and was awarded a substantial scholarship so I would be able to afford such a prestigious and expensive private education.

High school graduates, I know 1st hand that beginning your college experience can be tough. I remember having few resources and little information on the entire college application process. Before my senior year I never really thought about what school I wanted to attend. In my mind I had decided what I wanted to do; however, I just never took the step to actually do it.  On top of trying to figure out what my plans would be after high school, I also had the SATs to worry about. For those who know me, I am not the best test taker. Luckily, I heard of Salem CyberSpace. During my junior year of high school I began coming to CyberSpace for SAT and Accuplacer tutoring and it made all the difference. I later went on to enroll in the College Success Program in order to get the help I needed throughout my college process.

One thing I must say is that the people here are truly one of a kind. I remember working 1 on 1 with Jesenia to regularly check in about the progress I was making in all of my classes. I was listening to her advice and I was also enrolled in the TRIO program at North Shore Community College. TRIO provided me with tutoring in any classes that I struggled with. The impact that Jesenia has had on my life has been incredible. She consistently instilled in me the tools and the motivation that frankly, we all need at times. With my hard work and the help and support of the staff at CyberSpace, I can see my dreams becoming a reality. They have not only helped me stay on top of my studies, but they also assisted me with transfer applications to several different universities and making sure that I secured enough money to not be in debt for the rest of my life. Attending Northeastern University is an opportunity that I would have never thought possible.

I honestly can’t emphasize how thankful I am to have such an amazing program in my community. Congratulations CyberSpace on your 10 years of amazing work! And to all of the graduates tonight, I am aware that this is only the beginning. As they say “Success is a journey, not a destination”.

Class of 2012, I wish you the best of luck!

Thank you!