FRESNO – Assemblymember Juan Arambula will share strategies for helping children reach their full academic potential with parents of students in the UCSF Fresno Doctors Academy and Junior Doctors Academy as part of a seminar this Saturday, Feb. 25 at the UC Center ( 550 E. Shaw Ave., across from Fashion Fair Mall) in Fresno. The parent meeting is aimed at providing participants with information on how to prepare and pay for their children’s college education. Arambula is slated to make the keynote address, “Rising to the Top,” at approximately 9:15 a.m. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
The son of immigrant farm workers, Arambula harvested crops throughout California and as a result vowed to improve the living conditions of people around him. Despite humble origins, Arambula earned degrees from three of the most respected universities in the nation. He graduated with high honors from Harvard University and went on to earn a master's degree in educational administration and policy analysis from Stanford University as well as a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to his election to the Assembly, Arambula served on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors from 1997 to 2004. From 1987 to 1996, he served on the Fresno Unified School Board.
“I know firsthand the value of a college degree,” said Arambula. “I am an advocate for higher education and I’m happy to share information that may help parents enable their children to pursue a college education.”
“My wife and I place a great deal of emphasis on education within my own family and I am extremely proud that all four of my children went on to attend universities,” he added.
The Doctors Academy at Sunnyside High School and the Junior Doctors Academy at Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Terronez and Washington Colony middle schools are sponsored by the UCSF Fresno Latino Center for Medical Education and Research and are geared toward students interested in careers in the health professions. The programs specifically prepare middle- and high-school students to become competitive applicants to four-year universities by providing them with a rigorous academic curriculum that includes experiences in research and clinical settings, service learning, and exposure to universities and colleges.
“Parents will respond well to Assemblymember Arambula’s story,” said Katherine A. Flores, M.D., director of the UCSF Fresno Latino Center. “Like the assemblymember, a number of the Doctors Academy students are among the first in their families to attend college.”
“He is a shining example that a college education is possible,” Flores said.
For more information about the Doctors Academy or the event, please contact Diana Cantu at (559) 241-7676 or [email protected]
