“You could say it’s like my backbone.”
Guerrero has been living on his own in Aurora for more than a year after his father was deported to Mexico, and his mother and three sisters went with him. In addition to working hard in school, Guerrero juggled 20 to 40 hours of work a week in retail and service jobs to pay rent and send money to his family.
“Sometimes you have to pull an all-nighter to get those school projects done,” Guerrero said. “It was hard, but I’m doing everything for my family.”
aurora» Andy Guerrero’s smile was accompanied by a far-o≠ gaze and a knot in the pit of his stomach at his high school graduation ceremony. His family is in Mexico struggling to make ends meet. “I have mixed emotions,” the 17-year-old graduate of Aurora Central High School said at the ceremony. “I’m happy for everyone here, but I feel a little down because my parents aren’t here.”
Guerrero, who plans to attend Colorado Mesa University in the fall, said he doesn’t know where he’d be without the support of Boys Hope Girls Hope Colorado.
The program has two tracks: The first is a residential program that offers familystyle housing along with counseling and academic assistance. The second is an academy program focused on Aurora Central High School students to offer structured academic help, college preparedness and other wraparound services.
When Guerrero thinks back on his high school experience, his happiest memory is finding out he was accepted into the academy program.
“You could say it’s like my backbone,” he said. “They’ve been there physically and emotionally.”
Teachers at Aurora Central nominate students who they think have college potential but might not have the resources to get there, whether it be their first-generation college student status, family issues or
financial struggles.
Nominated students go through an application and interview process, and those who are chosen stick to a rigorous regimen of meeting with program staff a few times a week to do homework, get college prep help and be mentored and counseled when necessary.
A toothbrush. A warm jacket. Scholarship application advice. Guerrero knows whatever he needs, the staff from Boys Hope Girls Hope Colorado will be there for him.
And the support doesn’t stop after graduation.
On Thursday night, as the program recognized its nine graduating seniors who are all heading to college, Guerrero and his peers ripped into huge, wrapped boxes filled with sheets, laundry supplies and other dorm essentials.
“It feels great,” said Shaone Garcia — who will be going to the University of Colorado in the fall — as she pulled a mattress pad out of the box. “Now I don’t have to buy this stuff.”
The program participants must check in with their mentors once a month while in college and maintain a suitable GPA to continue getting their $5,000 a year Boys Hope Girls Hope scholarship.
Mary Fran Tharp, BHGH executive director, got emotional while reflecting on the students’ futures.
“None of this is easy,” Tharp said. “We work really, really hard, and these kids recognize the gift they have been given and are going to take full advantage of the opportunities they have.”
Guerrero plans to major in something science-related and knows he wants to get his Ph.D. to be a role model for his younger sisters.
“I want college to be something completely new,” he said. “Where at any moment, things can change for me.”
He credits Boys Hope Girls Hope for stepping in, getting him to this threshold and providing the parachute for his big jump into the future.
“To any kids struggling, remember to never be embarrassed of where you came from,” he said. “Whatever happens to you is a gift.”
“To any kids struggling, remember to never be embarrassed of where you came from. Whatever happens to you is a gift.” Andy Guerrero, Aurora Central High School graduate