We are thrilled to share that all of our college freshmen are at their respective campuses and have begun fall classes.  Thank you to our generous college dorm sponsors who made sure each student was ready for their new home away from home and for providing outerwear for the students headed to colder climates. 

A huge thank you to our incredible DTS college students who served as summer interns! Pictured below, from left to right, is Ingrid Franklin and Marshall College, Fernando UC Santa Cruz, Mimi, Mia UC Santa Cruz, Alexa Smith College, and Demi Saint Olaf College. Mia shares why she applied for the position and a little bit about her time on the job, “Ever since I was in 9th grade, I have wanted to work as a DTS summer intern. I wanted to be a role model for younger DTS students the way the older students had been for me. As a high school student, I liked being with the interns. They listened to…

DTS Summer 2022 was an incredible success! We ran 13 distinct programs and sent high school students to residential programs at Loyola Marymount University, Santa Clara University, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Smith College. And our college students interned for companies in a variety of fields including technology, finance and education.   In the photo above, high school seniors Bryan, Diego, and Andres help Tony brainstorm essay topics forhis UC personal statements. After spending the past four years together as a DTS Class, they are well equipped to engage Tony in thinking about which parts of his life he might want to share…

Since early June, DTS students have been engaged in robust summer programming. Our first four programs were held outside of Los Angeles, allowing students to detach from their regular lives and fully connect with one another: Bridge to College in Ojai, DTS Outdoors Camp in Wrightwood (where our college students served as counselors), a backpacking trip through Yosemite with Lasting Adventures for our rising 11th graders, and a backpacking trip through the San Bernardino Mountains with UCLA’s Unicamp for our rising 12th graders.  In late June, we returned to Hamilton High School for the remainder of the summer. Take a…

This year, the month between the arrival of college acceptance letters and college commitment day was one filled with anxiety and trepidation. The mental toll of the pandemic sent many of our students into a panic; they could no longer visualize themselves leaving home. We knew the only way to fuel their forward motion and lessen their apprehension was to get them onto campus. So we did. Flights were booked, schedules were rearranged, gas tanks were filled and staff and students hit the road. Thank you for providing the funding needed to ensure our students were able to commit with…