Victor applied to Breakthrough in 2011, as a fourth grader at John Yehall Chin Elementary School here in San Francisco. “I want to spend my summer and after-school time at Breakthrough because I might learn more there and understand everything in my homework,” he wrote at the time. “I’m hoping to improve my science skills because it’s my favorite subject and I didn’t have much science in third grade and lower.”
Victor joined our program that summer. For four years, he attended our intensive academic summer program, taking challenging classes including plenty of science. “In biology we did a lamb heart dissection which I really enjoyed, and chemistry was really exciting because we got to do labs,” Victor says. He remembers his teachers with appreciation, especially Danica, his math teacher and advisor as a rising sixth grader – “she was caring and inspiring and pushed me to work hard.” He also appreciated the Friday special events, designed to build community and expand our students’ thinking about what the future might hold – especially Career Day, when he visited workplaces including UCSF Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, and Remind.
During the school year, Victor attended Breakthrough’s after-school program for enrichment and homework help, and as an eighth grader, got support with the high school admissions process. He was accepted to Lowell and started there the following fall. “The bigger workload and harder teachers and classes were challenging. The school is a lot larger and I had to advocate for myself,” he recalls. But Victor brought a positive attitude and plenty of academic and study skills from his years in the program. He did well in core subjects while also studying French and playing viola, a long-time passion, in the student orchestra.
Victor stayed involved as a high school student, attending Saturday workshops, participating in our Breakthrough Leadership Program over the summer, and preparing for the college admissions process. “Senior year was a nerve-wracking time,” he remembers, “but I took advantage of Breakthrough and other resources to make the process go more smoothly. Ultimately, I was overjoyed to be accepted into UC Berkeley, which was my dream school.”
At Cal, he dove into his newfound interest in people- and planet-centered design. He co-created and taught a student-led course called “Living Futures: Regenerative Environmental Design,” and led the Tiny House on Wheels pilot project for the City of Richmond. He also spent two weeks in Ecuador, engaging in syntropic agroforestry work and constructing regenerative bamboo structures for schoolchildren. Since graduating in 2023, he’s been working with WSP, an engineering consulting firm, delivering green building certifications and incorporating sustainable strategies into projects across the country. He plans to continue making an impact in the years to come – whether through building design, regenerative landscaping, or environmental policy and urban planning.