Izabella Sotelo​

Paly, Class of 2020
San José State University, Class of 2024

Updated April 5, 2024

Rise Together Education scholarship recipient Izabella Sotelo will be graduating in 2024 with a degree in Child and Adolescent Development from San José State University (SJSU). She has worked as a nanny and, she says, “I enjoy working with children and want to make a difference in their lives.”

At SJSU, one of her favorite classes was a community practicum course in which she volunteered at the California Emerging Technology Fund, assisting many households in obtaining free or reduced-cost home internet connection. She explains, “Overall, this enables children from varied homes who are in school to have access to such a valuable resource in order to succeed.” Another favorite class was program evaluation, she says, “which taught me about the numerous ways a program or intervention is reviewed to ensure that it is efficient and meets the needs of the target audience.” Beyond classes, she says she has enjoyed going to football games and meeting friends in class while at SJSU.

While a freshman at Paly, Izabella participated in AVID, which, she says, “assisted me in making college decisions and gaining a sense of what college was like.” According to Izabella, the Rise Together scholarship has made a significant difference in her college experience. “With the scholarship, I was able to pay a portion of my tuition and buy a laptop and other college necessities,” she says. In addition, she says she has benefitted from check-ins with her mentor, Kimberly Schwan, “to ensure everything is going well with me and that I am on track to graduate.”

After graduation, Izabella hopes to work in the field of child services, such as in child protective services. For current high school and college students, she has some excellent advice: “Don’t give up on what you want to do and achieve when things get difficult. Also, remember that everyone accomplishes things at their own pace, so don't feel pressured.”

Congratulations, Izabella, and best of luck to you!
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