Kendra Washington is a senior at Cardozo High School. She is a part of the Gateway Program. This program gives students many different opinions on how they want to continue their lives after school. The program helps Washington in terms of finding out what she wants to do and where she wants to go to college. Now Kendra is going on to attend her top college, Hofstra University.

Washington explained that she got into Gateway by walking around Cardozo and ran into Mrs. EJ, who is Gateway’s advisor. She was the one who invited Washington to join Gateway because of her grades and the way she spoke.

Gateway has had a big impact on her life. “Gateway has opened up my eyes to a lot of different opportunities that I would not have at my old schools,” she explained.

“It’s very nice to be a part of a community that is all about helping and supporting each other. Overcoming obstacles and putting you on a whole new level of achievement,” Washington continued.

The opportunities that she got from being in Gateway were scholarships, volunteering, and internships. “There is a whole lot in my career path that I would not have been aware of if I was not in Gateway,” she said.

To be in the Gateway Program, students need to meet certain criteria, which are that the student is part of a minority group, has an 85 or above average, has a good standing with their teachers, and has approval from Mrs. EJ.

Washington has learned how to get out of her shell with the leadership skills that you develop while being in Gateway. She went on to explain that Gateway is a very helpful and welcoming program to be a part of.

She now gets to think about her future in a way that she never really thought of before. This means that she is starting to think more in-depth and long-term about the stuff that she wants and does not want in her life.

“The last thing that I could say is probably make the most of your time because you are never going to get it back,” Washington shared. “You never want to have any regrets about anything.”