Cindy Aguilar-Castaneda is the pride of Gonzales. During her four years at Gonzales High School, she did everything from tennis team to jazz band to classes at Hartnell College to the Gonzales Youth Council. And she did it all while battling lupus, an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs. But thanks to Cindy’s resilience, she graduated as the salutatorian and is now attending UC-Berkeley.
5:17By the time ACSA Region 9 Every Student Succeeding recipient Tyler Sheen arrived at Central High East Campus in Fresno, it was his 19th new school. As a child in the foster system, Tyler struggled to
5:05ACSA Region 15 Every Student Succeeding recipient Angel Barnes' life changed on July 3, 2018. Angel's sister, her sister's fiance and her two nieces died in a collision in Palmdale. While Angel grieve
5:01For ACSA Region 4 Every Student Succeeding winner Caitlynn Alimboyao, “paying it forward” is a value she champions at school, in her community and with her family. After surviving a life-threatening m
6:08Consuelo Vidal-Perez's mother meant everything to her. The Watsonville High School senior said she and her mom did everything together. After her mother died from cancer when Consuelo was 15 years old
4:26Fifth grader Nate Lopez of Oak Grove School District has lived more than one lifetime of hurt. His mother passed away when he was very young; he and his siblings went to live with their grandmother. H
5:23After the deaths of his brother and mother, Region 11 Every Student Succeeding winner Oscar Velazquez moved around a lot. One family member would take him in, and then another — he no longer had one c
6:18The year 2020 changed Naima Dellawar’s life. In January, Naima was at track practice at Cerritos High School when she suffered a cardiac arrest. Then she had two more while on the way to hospital. Nai
2:35When Maribel Zaragoza became a teenage mother at the age of 14, she decided her child would be her inspiration to further her education. In 2017, She began attending Cesar Chavez Community School in t
3:22Congratulations to ACSA Region 12 Every Student Succeeding winner Joaquin Enriquez from Upland High School. Joaquin is a gifted singer and actor. He has performed on stage with Broadway stars Bernadet
2:46Congratulations to ACSA Region 2 Every Student Succeeding winner Maisy Bishop from Arete Charter Academy in Grass Valley. Maisy was born at just 24 weeks. She weighed 1 pound, 12 ounces and survived h
3:12Congratulations to ACSA Region 15 Every Student Succeeding winner Dani Dominguez from Bowman High in William S. Hart Union High School District. Dani grew up in an abusive household. She battled sever
3:25Congratulations to ACSA Region 1 Every Student Succeeding winner Brandon Thatcher from Shasta High. Brandon battled homelessness throughout his childhood. He often walked 3 miles to school before educ
1:38ACSA honored 21 students from California's public schools for overcoming tremendous adversity to get to where they are today at the Every Student Succeeding luncheon. Nearly 1,000 people gathered in S
2:50Learning a new language is always a challenge. But when Ali Hussain moved to the United States from Pakistan, he needed to learn two languages: English and American Sign Language. Born deaf, Ali had l
4:09Keanen and Keion Evans are the star mascots at Winship Middle School in Eureka. But there was a time when the twins could not be in a gym, let alone perform a high volume dance routine. Diagnosed with
3:27There is no good age to lose a parent. Daniel Morozov lost both his father and his mother in the span of just 24 hours. Finding a sense of normalcy would prove challenging. But thanks to the love and
2:24Marbella Cruz never thought she would live to see her 17th birthday. After a childhood filled with trauma, she battled depression and anxiety which led to multiple suicide attempts. But thanks to the
2:39Marbella Cruz never thought she would live to see her 17th birthday. But after multiple suicide attempts, she found the help she needed from therapists and educators at Imperial County Office of Educa
2:46Richard Montes was overwhelmed when he arrived at Whitney High School as a seventh grader. After all, Whitney High is one of the top schools in the country. But after overcoming a traumatic childhood
3:59Haley Keeling will never forget the first time she held her daughter, Dalia. She was just sixteen years old when she gave birth. This beautiful story looks at a teenage mother from Vislia Unified Scho
