San Diego, CA: At the age of five, Lucerito Gutierrez helped her mother survive by jumping inside trash cans to dig for bottles and cans to recylce for cash. Today, she is a senior at Southwest High School and takes four AP classes. All her hard work has paid off. She now has her entire college education paid for thanks to Bill and Melinda Gates. From BA to PhD, Lucerito won't have to pay a dime for her education. "What my peers in my AP classes don't know," says Lucerito, "Is that even with this scholarship, and my four AP classes, four times a week, I still dig in trash cans to help make sure that we can survive."
Lucerito will share her story today in front of over 2,000 people. While heartbreaking, her story is all but rare, and this Sunday Reality Changers will honor over 200 more high school seniors with stories just as inspiring and amazing. On its 12th anniversary, Reality Changers will host its 13th annual year-end celebration. A celebration that started with just a few people in the humble Hispanic Presbyterian Church in Golden Hill and then moved to the rooftop of Reality Changers' parking structure City Heights, will be held in the Jenny Craig Pavilion at the University of San Diego for the second year in a row. "The organization has grown in so many different ways. Four years ago we only had 3 1/2 employees, and today we have over 25," says the VP of Communications Marshela Salgado, "We started with only $300, and in twelve years we have given away over $3,000,000 and our students have earned over $20,000,000 in scholarships from all sources. It's more than I think even our Founder imagined in such short time."
Sunday's event, entitled "America's Finest: A Celebration of Education in San Diego," is a highly-emotional staged production consisting of music, videos, student presentations and more, and has been recognized as one of the top nonprofit events of the year by some of San Diego's most influential leaders. Mayor Bob Filner has attended three years in a row, along with other local leaders.
"America's Finest"
TODAY, Sunday, May 19th
Jenny Craig Pavilion (University of San Diego)
5998 Alcala Way
San Diego, CA 92110
3:30 p.m. Doors Open
3:30 p.m. VIP Reception
4:00 p.m. Pre-Show Entertainment (featuring Quino Big Mountain & Xavier The X-Man)
4:30 p.m. Official Program Begins
Special guests at "America's Finest" include:
- San Diego Mayor Bob Filner
- California State Assemblymember Toni Atkins
- San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Bill Kowba (who is being honored)
- Incoming San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten
- And many more top leaders from throughout San Diego County!
Event entertainment includes:
- Quino from the band "Big Mountain" (from the top-10 hit "Baby I Love Your Way")
- Xavier The X-Man from Magic 92.5 and "Xavier The X-Man's Sunday Night Oldies Show"
Media is welcomed. 