(upbeat strings and piano)
I grew up in the small town of Lawrence
which is north of Boston.
I have a wonderful mother
a wonderful dad
and three beautiful sisters.
A saying throughout my
whole family is "Be better."
I knew since I was little
everybody wanted what's best for me
and knew that college was best for me.
I knew no matter what
I had to get a better
education for myself.
None of us really went
through the college process.
We really didn't have anybody
to really talk to about that.
Throughout my high school
career, Maureen Santiago
she was like a second mother to me.
She always was helping me with
not only my academics, but
my personal life as well.
If it weren't for her
I don't know where I would've been.
- The way OneGoal, and myself,
helped Chris and his family
and other members of Lawrence High School.
When the parents don't
understand the process
they don't understand financial aid
we are a person that they can come to.
For Chris, going into Salem
State was challenging.
- I've always been
home, around my family 24/7
and now, I can't really do that.
Since I'm the oldest
I have to be that role model for them.
- He needed to learn independence.
How do I have my freedom,
but also, rein back and do my academics?
- I thought I was doing okay
because I used my previous
high school process
of just get by and just do it.
But, the beginning of the
semester of my freshman year
I wasn't doing so well.
When I saw my grades, they
weren't as I expected.
Maureen told me to go
see an academic advisor.
- He made the appointment
to meet with the counselor
as I was on the phone.
Yeah, it's okay to not be perfect.
It's okay to make mistakes
but what do you do now?
He got the help he needed
and he passed all his
classes first semester.
- Because of Maureen and OneGoal
quitting is just not an option for me.
When I graduate college
that's gonna be the day
that I know I did better.
It's gonna be the first stepping stone
for me to be having a better life.
- This is what OneGoal's all about,
junior, senior, and
freshman year in college.
You always want them to be better
and if you can help them, you don't stop.
It's the phone calls, the weekly check-ins
just because it technically,
on paper, is done
it will never be done.
(upbeat strings and piano)
