Education
Salma is the oldest daughter
of two girls born to immigrant
parents, and grew up in City
Heights, an underserved
community that is very similar
to Barrio Logan. Growing up
in a low income community,
her father worked two jobs
to provide for her family. Her
mother was a stay at home mom
that went to an Adult School
so she could learn English.
Her family witnessed the lives
of her older cousins who had
gone down the wrong path due
to the lack of proper guidance
experiencing gangs, violence
and teen pregnancy.
S
alma Michelle Parra Pulgarin will be attending University of California, San
Diego, as a Pathways To STEM Scholar in the fall and will be the first in her
family to go to college. Over twenty years ago her mom and dad, Sandra
and Armando came to the United States for opportunity for their future
children. Today, she is living that dream, thanks to the amazing work of the
Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI).
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Salma excelled in the program,
received support when her father
became ill, learned leadership
skills and grew as an individual.
Salma will graduate from
Kearney SCT High School with
a 4.35 GPA and 3rd in her class.
Salma shared with Giving Back
Magazine, “I truly and honestly
cannot imagine what my life
would look like if I had not taken
advantage of this program.”
TO
Salma Parra
From a young age, education
was valued in Salma’s
household. Her parents were
present and guided her as much
as they could, but they knew
that there was only so much
they could teach her about the
pathway to higher education.
Her younger sister Dayanna was
admitted into the BLCI program
in 6th grade and it was only in
the summer of Salma’s freshman
year that she was finally
admitted to BLCI after being
waitlisted for two years.