I Graduated College and Now I’m Finding Happiness Through my Career

16Nov
by Evelyn Rojas

I graduated from William C. Overfelt High School in 2017. Before that, I attended Rocketship. Both of these schools gave me the resources to be confident in my college journey. While Rocketship made college familiar to me at a very young age, Overfelt prepared me to apply. And I’m grateful for the range of experiences these two communities gave me, that allowed me to explore higher education and graduate. 

For instance, Rocketship planted seeds by taking us on field trips to visit campuses like Stanford, Berkeley, UCSC, and SJSU. Overfelt, on the other hand, had so many extracurricular activities that allowed me to explore my interests and build my resume for college. After sharing my interest to attend a 4-year university, my counselor followed up with me about questions or concerns. They also constantly hosted College Application Workshops to help us in applying. When it came time to apply and make decisions about college, I felt ready. 

I chose UC Santa Barbara because it was on the beach and, most importantly, they gave me the best financial aid package. Even though I had a lot of positive experiences in college, nothing could’ve prepared me for how lonely it would feel to be away from my family. It wasn’t until I found awesome friends that I felt better. I had already experienced how it felt to be supported in my K-12 education through counselors and teachers, but my college experience showed me how important it is to look for support systems when they aren’t already in place.

In reflecting on my education and college journey, I know that all the work I’ve put in and everything I’ve been taught has led me to this moment. I’d like to think that the most important thing I got out of my education was placing importance on happiness. Now that I’ve graduated college, my plan is to be happy and make others happy. Joy is my favorite thing in the world, so I hope to spread and receive as much as possible. I’m currently working as a CareCorps Coordinator at Rocketship because it aligns perfectly with my passion for helping others and I hope that my professional journey continues to allow me to do what I love.

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Evelyn Rojas

Evelyn Rojas is a recent UC Santa Barbara graduate from San Jose, CA. She was rasied by an undocumented, single mother- who is a survivor of domestic violence. Her mom did everything she could with low-income housing, food stamps and long work hours. Evelyn was part of the first class to ever graduate from Rocketship Public Schools at Rocketship Mateo Sheedy in 2010. She became the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. Evelyn is one of 8 siblings and now works to support her family back home. She is giving back to her community at Rocketship Spark Academy as a CareCorps Coordinator.

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