First Graduate

First Graduate's mission of helping students become first generation college graduates seeks to level the playing field for students who are immigrants or children of immigrants, who come from challenging economic circumstances, and who are otherwise disadvantaged in the dominant culture. We provide them with the long-term support that their more well-off peers receive so that they can be competitive high school and college candidates. And, this long-term investment in their education and exposure to career options sets them on a path to build careers, not just jobs. Education is a right, not a privilege, and we work with students from the summer after sixth grade through college graduation (a 10 - 12 year journey) to help them attain their degrees and thereby help their families move out of poverty in a single generation.

The goal of the First Career program for middle school students is to expose them to the breadth of career possibilities available with a college degree, and expand their thinking about opportunities in the future. This is achieved through year-round advisory lessons that explore values and personal success; professional communication styles; connecting interests to careers; creating first resumes; and mock interviews. Our biggest middle school career event is Career Day, involving more than 100 middle school students and about a dozen local companies. Students have visited Gap, Inc., Dropbox, Designmap, Facebook, KQED, Wells Fargo, Google, LinkedIn, Ubisoft, IBM Watson, Salesforce, and Pinterest, among many others. Career Day provides a first-hand look at a day in the life of local professionals, helping students picture themselves as future professionals as well.

Students applying must be in the 6th grade at a San Francisco middle school, and neither parent/guardian must hold a 4 year college degree from the United States. To apply, parents should complete a parent application and students must complete the student application. For questions, please reach out to Marcel Glover at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..