After watching his mother and grandparents struggle to make ends meet, Earvin Buckner realized the path to a more solid financial future was a good college education. Later he learned the rewards are more than financial; attending a college like Cal could open doors to experiences he never dreamed of.

As an elementary school student in his underserved San Jose neighborhood, Earvin enjoyed school and his friends and didn’t notice the poverty around him. His life changed when his parents divorced. Despite her struggles, Earvin’s mother was determined that her children receive a good education and achieve their dreams. Seeing that schools in their neighborhood were not up to par, she sent Earvin and his sister to Guatemala to live with their maternal grandparents and to attend school.

Attending school in Guatemala at the age of seven was a wake-up call for Earvin. "I was already behind when I got there," said Earvin. "My second grade class was already doing advanced math and we had 12-13 subjects every day."

Although his teachers and grandparents had high expectations, Earvin had a hard time adjusting and becoming completely bilingual in Spanish. His hard work paid off. By the time he returned to the United Stated for middle school he was far more advanced than the students in his neighborhood school. He was completely fluent in both Spanish and English, which he found to be an asset in California.

Earvin’s early academic immersion helped him to keep his college dreams in sight despite the distractions in his high school and neighborhood. "The kids in my U.S. high school didn’t seem to care about education. In East San Jose there were a lot of kids doing bad stuff and I wasn’t used to it."

Earvin’s tenacious spirit and his tight knit family kept him focused on academic achievement; he achieved his dream of joining his older sister at U.C. Berkeley this fall. Gaining admittance to Cal was only part of the journey. Realizing it would take $29,000 per academic year to attend Cal almost deterred him from starting Cal. He knew he would not get enough financial aid to make attending Cal a reality, and that his family didn’t have the resources to help.

The Equity Scholarship is providing the needed financial assistance to make Cal accessible and helping him continue the pursuit of his dreams. "Because of The Equity Scholarship I am on my way. I can focus on my education and take advantage of all Cal has to offer."

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