Lucas J. De La Torre, principal of Cutler Bay Senior High School, recently announced that Claudia Gonzalez received a $1,000 Comras Family Foundation Scholarship.
Gonzalez was one of Women of Tomorrow’s (WOT) 1,000 seniors celebrating its 20th anniversary at Jungle Island. Amelia Diaz, guidance counselor, is the Women of Tomorrow school sponsor.
As part of the Women of Tomorrow program, high school girls identified as at-risk or in need of guidance meet with their mentors once a month. Founder Jennifer Valoopi said she is amazed by what the young women have persevered through and went on to achieve.
“If you really want to stop the cycles of poverty and abuse, you start with the women who are going to raise the next generation,” Valoopi said.
Women of Tomorrow Mentor & Scholarship Program is a unique mentoring organization that is considered a model for the nation. Valoopi currently is engaged in expanding WOT nationally, thanks in part to a $3 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Over 150 public high schools in more than 50 cities in Florida and Metro Detroit and have helped provide mentees with approximately $3.2 million worth of college scholarships.
WOT is a unique, high impact program, designed by Valoopi in 1997, which boasts a 92 percent high school graduation rate among an at-risk population. Through her leadership, WOT has received national recognition and been the focus of study by the Harvard Business School Community Partners Program.
