During her senior year in AVID, Emma LoPresti (12) did a group project as a culmination of the research she had completed throughout six years of the program. Each group was assigned one college to research, and she did SDSU.

“We had to research the college, the cost of tuition, how you would fit your classes in with a job, and everything you would have to pay for,” LoPresti said.

This experience prepared LoPresti for the reality of what college would look like and gave her the right mindset as she advanced towards high school graduation. She said that she owes this to AVID.

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination and is based on the principle of preparing students for college.

AVID teacher Jose Lucero teaches freshman AVID linked with English 1-2 and AVID senior seminar.He said that AVID’s is a program designed to help all types of students earn a spot at a four-year university. The program revolves around three main goals: college readiness, college awareness, and what they call the AVID family. 

“[College readiness] is the skills that you need [for college],” Lucero said. “That includes reading, writing and organization. It’s not just about getting into college, it’s about staying there. The second part of it is college awareness. There’s a lot of jargon in college: the FAFSA, what’s the difference between a CSU and a UC, all that stuff. We teach kids how the college system works. Lastly, the AVID family, which is making a place where people feel welcome. Different kids join for all three reasons; some just want the college knowledge, some want a place to belong, and some know that they want to sharpen their skills. That’s what’s valuable. Everyone’s in it for the common goal, but they joined for different reasons.”

Aviance Burrellmedley has been a part of AVID since eighth grade and now serves as one of the program’s co-presidents. She oversees the four AVID committees and plans the senior banquet at the end of the year.

“I love being a part of exec because it is really like a family and it is really tight-knit,” Burrellmedley said. “I get to talk to every AVID teacher and build a relationship with them, which is really helpful. When I was in middle school, I never liked talking to people. I always liked being in control, but I never knew how to do it in a proper way where other people would respect me, but being co-president has taught me how to lead in the proper way.”

In preparing students to go to college, AVID walks them through the process of finding colleges and applying. Before senior year, LoPresti said that AVID students pick their top-10 colleges, prepare for standardized tests, and refine their resumes. 

“The resume I made in [senior seminar], my work resume, was the resume I used to apply to one of my jobs,” LoPresti said. “So, that class really set me up for not just college readiness, but just the outside world. By the end of my junior year, I had an idea of what colleges I wanted to apply to and what’s needed to get into those colleges.”

Having done most of the research in previous years, LoPresti said that senior AVID was smooth sailing. She frequently heard her friends complaining about having to fill out college applications, making her grateful for the ability to do this during her AVID class.

In addition to college research and preparation, for Burrellmedly, the connections she formed with her AVID teachers were also beneficial throughout her high school career. They not only taught her how to communicate her needs, but also helped her as she was struggling in school. 

“With AVID, you build relationships with your teachers,” Burrellmedley said. “With that, I was able to tell them what I was struggling with academically, but also in other areas. They were able to help me talk to other teachers and they helped me advocate for myself. Then, teachers were more willing to work with me. After that period of time when I needed a bit more help, I was able to get back on track.”

In the fall, Burellmedley will be attending Miramar Community College, and then, she said she is hoping to transfer to San Diego State University to major in Special Education. 

She said that the most impactful part of AVID for her was the advice and support her teachers gave her and how they changed her perspective about what defines success. 

“At first, when I joined AVID and got into high school, it was intimidating because everyone said you have to get all As and take all AP classes, but in AVID, you realize that sometimes taking all AP classes is just not for you and you would do better if you were in regular classes,” she said. “In AVID, they do encourage you to go to a four-year college and to take AP classes, but what they care about most is doing what’s best for you.”

And for LoPresti, she plans on attending the University of Alabama as a mechanical engineering major. She will also be doing the STEM path to MBA program, meaning that she’ll be working on her graduate degree and undergraduate degree simultaneously, and getting her Master’s in business. 

“The reason I chose Alabama was because of their MBA program,” LoPresti said. “It’s very much like AVID. You have the same teachers all four years, the same kids all four years, and I really liked that aspect of AVID.”

LoPresti said that her future would look different if she hadn’t been a part of AVID, especially in regard to a career path. 

“It really set me up for life outside of high school, preparing for jobs, and knowing what type of job I want,” LoPresti said. “In junior year, you research future jobs that you want and from there, you figure out the requirements. If I did not do that, I probably wouldn’t have known what I want to do and what I want to be. I’ve been pretty set on mechanical engineering since I did that project. If I didn’t do that in AVID, I would be kind of lost.”