“High school is a confusing and stressful time. You need all the help you can get.”
These are the words of Rei Struga. He just graduated from Warren Mott High School and is on his way to Wayne State University where he will study computer science. He has a vision, goals, and plan, and he feels good about the direction he’s going. But it hasn’t always been this way.
“When I joined the Winning Futures program in 10th grade, I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” said Rei. “I liked math, so I thought I’d be an accountant. But I truly didn’t know what to do.”
Rei is just like many of today’s high school students. They have ideas of what they’d like to do after high school but lack the experience or insight to choose a career path that will not only make them happy, but also enable them to live a healthy and fruitful life. In some cases, students also don’t have anyone in their lives who they can turn to for advice and support.
Rei started in our Year 1 (10th grade, life skills development) program and was mentored by Chinonso Agubosim through Year 2 (11th grade, education planning). In Year 3 (12th grade, career planning) he was mentored by Andy Makar, a director of Engagement Delivery at Salesforce. And now he’s in Year 4 (continuing education) where he will continue to work with Andy.
“The program really does enable students to think about their future,” said Andy. “It pairs students who have a specific interest with a professional who has made that subject their career. And that opens the student’s eyes to what is possible and what their future might look like.”
For Rei, that match is exactly what he needed to choose a path.
“My parents didn’t go to college,” said Rei. “So, I really needed someone in the science, technology, engineering, and math field to ask questions about various careers. The thing with careers, there’s so many different kinds. There are careers that you don’t even know about. Andy helped me with the complexity of that.”
“Rei is a really good example of the concept, ‘you get out what you put in,’” said Andy. “He’s very interested in the computer and information technology fields. He’s very conscious about questions and inquisitive about what a career in this area looks like. I’ve had some really good conversations with Rei about the IT field and what it’s like.”
“You help students who need someone to go to for advice,” Rei added. “It’s a very confusing time of life. You need to talk to someone who can help you figure out what you want to do and where you want to go. And that’s what Andy and the Winning Futures program did for me.”
Rei was a recipient of our 2024 Cupp-Hamilton Scholarship and will continue into our Year 4-7 program throughout college under the mentoring guidance of Andy.
I asked Rei how he feels about his experience in our program and the path he’s on. He paused for a thoughtful moment and simply replied, “I feel good about going to college.”
Rei, we do too, and we wish you well on your journey to becoming a computer scientist. Let’s go, Rei!
Career mentors are volunteers from the business community who participate with students in educational sessions and fun activities that help students figure out what they will do after high school and teach them important life and job-readiness skills. Learn more!