SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWSLETTER

“John from RTE once told me, ‘You are your biggest advocate’. So, my best piece of advice to the new class is: utilize your resources, stay humble, and always advocate for yourself. Thank you, Tida, Melanie, John, and the rest of the RTE team. I couldn’t imagine my journey in higher education without this program.”

— Mia Rose Tuifua, UC Riverside, Class of 2027

STUDENT PROFILE: ILENE TRACH

Ilene Trach

Paly, Class of 2021

Purdue University, Class of 2026 Material Science and Engineering

Q: What was your experience going to Paly?

A: Paly is renowned for being one of the best schools to attend and it really lives up to the reputation because of all the different opportunities it offers to students. My favorite memories from Paly was when I helped with float building during homecoming week. It brought out my creativity, dedication, and tenacity and the results of the float was really worth it. Spirit Week was a full week of events filled with school traditions and it was always fun to anticipate and get better year after year. It united our class in ways that were exclusive to that week which was pretty magical.

Q: How has RTE impacted your life?

A: RTE has helped me in ways I had never imagined. Not only did it help me financially, relieving me from worrying about how to afford college, but their mentorship program was the most rewarding to me. My mentor, Grainger, has guided and witnessed me grow throughout my years. I’m grateful that participating in the mentorship piece was mandatory to receive this scholarship because my younger self didn’t initially see the importance of mentorship. As I grew older, I grew more comfortable sharing things about my life with my mentor. Grainger may have not signed up for this, but in some way he was my mentor/life coach/therapist throughout my college years and I’ll continue to keep in touch for as long as I can.

Read the entire interview with Ilene HERE.

ALUMNI PROFILE: CHRIS CREWS-HOLLOWAY

Chris Crews-Holloway

Paly Class of 2016

UCSB Class of 2020 (BS, Physics with a Minor in Astronomy and Planetary Sciences)

SJSU Class of 2024 (MS, Aerospace Engineering)

We recently caught up with Chris Crews-Holloway, a scholar from our very first RTE cohort. He has had quite a journey from Paly to college, graduate school, and a career in the space industry. Chris exemplifies the resilience and determination of our RTE scholars.

Q: How has RTE helped you?

A: RTE helped provide mentorship and guidance to me, as well as foundational financial support. It’s incredible to be surrounded by a community of individuals who have been through similar experiences you can ask questions to or get mentorship from. Having this support and feedback throughout the application, acceptance, and college process was very impactful, lending more perspective as I navigated my way through these trying times. The financial contributions I received enabled me to reduce the amount of student loans I had to take on at USCB and enabled me to focus on my academics and research while at school instead of also trying to work part-time (which I had no time for and would have taken energy away from my studies).

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in the future?

A: In my future, I plan to accomplish a lot - but what does “a lot” really mean? I have already done so much in my short time since graduate school, however I genuinely feel I have barely scratched the surface of my potential. One thing I really look forward to is doing a space shot - sending a rocket that I build with others over the Karman line at ~330,000 feet (the edge of Earth's atmosphere) within the next few years.

While I could measure future accomplishments with goals and physical achievements (like authoring more patents or publications, raising money for my company, etc.), what I really hope to accomplish is to make a bigger impact on those in my community and the world. As an engineer, I want to work on cool products that are impactful and help people around the world live better, safer lives. As an entrepreneur, I want to push the limits of technology and drive innovation to better understand the world around us and our place in it. As an individual, I want to keep growing and learning, providing better support for my family, friends, and those around me. I believe accomplishments are best measured by the impact they make, and I hope to contribute meaningfully to the communities I am a part of now and in the future.

Read more of our conversation with Chris HERE.

SCHOLAR PHOTO SUBMISSIONS📷

Congratulations to José Pinto Saldaňa, Mia Rose Tuifa, Samantha Mann, Vivian Trach, and Martha Estrada-Pêrez who received prizes for participating.

FISCAL YEAR 2026 IN REVIEW: THE ANNUAL REPORT IS HERE!

We are pleased to share the FY26 Annual Report which recaps RTE’s milestones from July 2025 to June 2026. As our president Tida Violante writes in her letter, we accomplished much over the last year:

• Expanding Our Scholar Family: During this reporting period, we proudly helped to enroll 8 new, motivated Paly graduates into our active support and scholarship pipeline.

• Celebrating College Success: We cheered on a phenomenal new cohort of college graduates this spring, adding to our historic track record of a 90% four-year college graduation rate for 9 Paly Class of 2022 graduates who went directly from high school to a four-year institution. One student transferred to a 4-year institution and will graduate this spring.

• Targeted Financial Support: Thanks to our dedicated donors and foundation partners, we continued to allocate 98% of funds raised directly toward robust scholarships (up to $3,500 per academic year) and also provided a 5th year of scholarship for those who needed it.

• The Power of Mentorship: Our volunteer mentors and board members provided vital, human-centered guidance — acting as personal coaches through course selection, emotional adjustments, and early-career networking.

Read the full report here!

COMING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY: JULY 2026 MEET & GREET

Once again, the RTE community came together on July 29th to celebrate our achievements at the Sheraton Hotel Palo Alto. It was an opportunity to bring together current and past scholars, mentors, board members, and donors to connect and learn from each other. The event was preceded by the annual College 101 Workshop which is a seminar to help incoming RTE scholars prepare for college with practical guidance from our recent and current college students. Thank you to Alexa Morales, Ilene Trach, Angel Armenta Lopéz, and Tiffany He for helping!