Stockton Scholars celebrates first graduating class with former Mayor Michael Tubbs

Growing up in Stockton as the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Angela Estrada didn't know if college was an attainable dream.

It wasn't until she watched her mother return to school to become a teacher when it all seemed possible.

"She would commute to Sacramento State (University) back and forth and have to use her financial aid to pay for babysitters," Estrada said. "People would take care of me when she was at school and give me rides home."

Her mother went on to graduate with a bachelor's degree and became a teacher at Pacific Law Academy. While her college experience wasn't ideal, Estrada said it planted a seed in her: college can be a reality for anyone.

That's the same message leaders at Stockton Scholars — a scholarship program founded by former Mayor Michael Tubbs and former Stockton Unified School District Board Trustee Lange Luntao in 2018 — say they want to send to young people.

Stockton Scholars offers scholarships of up to $4,000 for students attending a four-year college and up to $1,000 for students attending a community college or trade school. It also offers a mentorship program that pairs college students with Central Valley professionals from various fields like education, business, STEM, government and nonprofit sectors.

"I really believe that our ability to pour into our youth is one of the most powerful things we can do as a community, and Stockton Scholars is one way that we can pour into the youth in the city of Stockton," program director Erika Hermosillo said.

Estrada is just one of the youth that Stockton Scholars has impacted. She was one of the first to be awarded a scholarship when she was a senior at Ronald E. McNair High School in 2019.

This summer, Estrada graduated from UCLA with an anthropology degree and landed a job at Public Advocates, a nonprofit organization based in Sacramento.

"I met the person who hired me through Stockton Scholars so they're literally the reason why I have a full-time job," she said.

On Saturday, Stockton Scholars recognized Estrada and the 900 students that are a part of its first graduating class during an event dubbed "Rooted Rising" at Banner Island Ballpark.

Tubbs — who moved to Los Angeles after accepting a position as special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity to Gov. Gavin Newsom — returned to his hometown to celebrate the graduates.

"It's always great to be back in Stockton," Tubbs told The Record. "I'm particularly proud because despite the challenges and despite some of the political craziness and some of the dysfunction, we still have young people who are rising above the odds and who are going to college."

In Stockton, only 18 percent of residents older than 25 have a bachelor's degree, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. That's far below the national average, which stands at 37 percent.

Students can face many barriers to education. Data from the California Department of Education shows that 79 percent of students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals and 24% of students are English learners at Stockton Unified School District — the largest school district in the city.

"I just remember growing up in Stockton and hearing all the negative," Tubbs said. "I literally remember praying and saying, 'God, if you help me make it, I promise I will do my part to help other people make it.'"

Tubbs faced poverty as he grew up in south Stockton, the son of a single mother. He didn't always know that college would be in the cards for him.

"There's so many barriers in the present that make it hard to think about the future," Tubbs said. "When I got to college, the world changed. I think being from a place like Stockton gave me tenacity, gave me grit, and gave me a little bit of hustle that made a place like Stanford really easy ... if education can do that for me, imagine what it could do for every kid."

The former mayor added that he aspired to lower the barriers to higher education for local students through the creation of Stockton Scholars.

"When I was mayor, I recognized that the term would either be four years or eight years, but the work had to be longer term than that and the best way to do that was to invest in the future, the young people."

Hermosillo said it is her hope that, like Tubbs, youth in the program leave Stockton to pursue their education and return to benefit the city with their knowledge.

"A lot of times the message that gets sent to our scholars and to students in Stockton is that to be successful you have to get out of Stockton, and we're trying to change that narrative to show the beauty and power that exists here," she said.

Stockton Scholars has awarded 5,000 scholarships worth more than $3 million since 2019. Scholarship applications for the class of 2024 will open in the fall. To apply, students must be on track to graduate from any public high school in Stockton, have a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA, and complete a FAFSA or Dream Act application.

"We try to keep the requirements really low barrier so that as many kids who want to pursue higher education are able to take advantage of our program," Hermosillo said.

About 2,000 students will receive scholarships next year, she added.

Those who are interested in applying can follow Stockton Scholars on Instagram to be alerted when the application is live or visit stocktonscholars.org.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Former Mayor Michael Tubbs comes through on promise for scholarships