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THE IMMOKALEE FOUNDATION

STUDENTS ARE ALSO ACE COLLEGIANS

by Steven Kissinger
D amian Gonzalez remembers well his first day on

campus at Florida Gulf Coast University. He
would be 15 years old for another month yet, and
he was sure everyone in his classes knew how young he was.
As an Immokalee High School junior involved in The
Immokalee Foundation programs, Gonzalez had been
accepted into FGCU’s Accelerated Collegiate Experience
program. That means he experiences two academic worlds:
He is now a senior at Immokalee High who spends all his
classroom time in college, visiting his high school only for
meetings of the Robotics and Key clubs.
At FGCU, Gonzalez sees Benjamin Lucio, another
Immokalee Foundation student enrolled in the ACE
program, in Introduction to Forensics. They signed up for
the class together. Lucio certainly can relate to being a
young man on campus.
“You’re 16 and walking around with a bunch of adults,”
said Lucio, a chemistry major who plans on attending
BENJAMIN LUCIO DAMIAN GONZALEZ
pharmacy school. “But once you know the ropes, it’s fine.”
Lucio learned about the ACE program when he was a
sophomore in high school. “I knew I needed to challenge “I wanted to get a head start, to get all the prerequisites out of the way,”
myself a little,” he said. said Gonzalez, who wants to become a software engineer. He learned about
He definitely rose to the challenge, even making the the program from his brother, Marcos Gonzalez, who was the first in his
dean’s list this year, said Alice Brunner, director of FGCU’s family to graduate from college and is now an accountant in Tampa. “He
ACE program. “I have enjoyed working with both of them set really high standards for me,” he said. “And now I think my job is to
– they’re awesome, good students,” she said. “The students set the bar even higher for my little sister.” College is still a way off for her,
we get from The Immokalee Foundation are highly though – Amy Gonzalez is only 8 years old.
motivated. They overcome a lot of challenges.” The Immokalee Foundation provides a range of education programs
Because of their start in ACE, Gonzalez and Lucio – that focus on building pathways to success through college and post-
along with 127 other high school juniors and seniors in the secondary preparation and support, mentoring and tutoring, opportunities
program – will automatically be accepted at FGCU and for broadening experiences, and life skills development leading to economic
will enjoy priority registration. In addition, if they finish independence. To learn more about The Immokalee Foundation, including
high school with a 3.0 GPA in their college courses, they’ll volunteering, becoming a mentor, making a donation or any other
be eligible for a scholarship of $3,000 to $5,000, renewable information, call 239.430.9122 or visit www.immokaleefoundation.org.
each year they are full-time students.
Perhaps best yet, Gonzalez and Lucio each will have
50 credits toward a college degree when they graduate Steven Kissinger, executive director of The Immokalee Foundation, can be reached
from high school – and those are 50 credits they earned at steven.kissinger@immokaleefoundation.org.
tuition-free.

68 Life in Naples | May • June • July 2017