Colombia (multi-institutional pilot project)

Being the first in your family to go to college should feel like an accomplishment, not like being lost in a place where no one explained to you how things work. That feeling is one of the most overlooked reasons why so many first-generation students drop out during their first year.

My name is Estefany Güechá, a Fulbright scholar and co-founder of the Cerros de Cambio Foundation, and I have been supporting vulnerable youth for more than eight years. Now I want to bring “Success Journey” to Colombia—a methodology that’s already proven effective in the United States: a gamified app that centralizes resources and celebrates every milestone, combined with “Success Coaching,” in which a graduate student personally mentors a freshman throughout their first year of college, which is the most critical period for dropout rates.

With your help, no first-generation student has to feel alone on that journey.

Your contribution makes it possible to:

• A first-year student should receive personalized support (Success Coaching) for two consecutive semesters.
• The development of the gamified digital tool “Success Journey,” designed to help each student track their own milestones of success.
• A measurable goal: that at least 70% of the students in the pilot program complete the support process.

Person in Charge
Estefany Guecha Sánchez