St. Hope Band 3

I’ve always dreamed about going to an HBCU. I was unsure about my experience at a predominantly white institution. I currently attend California State University, Sacramento and I have loved my experience thus far. Coming from a predominantly black high school, Sacramento Charter High School, the diversity of Sac State’s campus was truly a culture shock, but the levels of love and unity helped me overcome my worries about attending a local university. Sac state is a great campus and I have learned the importance of my presence on this campus.

Here at St. HOPE we find it very rewarding to recognize the outstanding commitment from our staff, which more than often go above and beyond to give scholars an unforgettable learning experience. With amazing staff like Mr. Sarabia, Sac High’s Visual Arts and Communications teacher, there’s no wonder why we have such amazing scholars.

This month we had the privilege of sitting down with veteran HOPEster, Mr. Sarabia, to hear a little about his story. Here’s what we captured:

Q: How long have you been here? How did you hear about St. HOPE?

Walking into the dimmed library, staff were greeted with the aroma of fresh fruit and the beat of exhilarating music. In one corner of the room, folks were sharing the benefits of meditation, in another, a barre demonstration was just starting. Samples of detoxifying juices and sunflower butters were passed around while staff worked on a community brainstorming project. This is the St. HOPE Annual Wellness Fair, an event designed for all St.

This school year we will begin serving free meals to our students for breakfast and lunch. We are excited to be given the opportunity to provide our students cost-free meals under the USDA Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The CEP, launched under the Healthy, Hunger-free Act, is a four-year program that serves free meals to the nation’s highest poverty schools and operates through federal and state funds. This is the first year we have qualified for the CEP program.

In addition to the traditional academic summer school session for scholars in need of catching up before the next school year, St. HOPE also partnered with Camp EDMO to provide scholars with a unique STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) and SEL (Social Emotional Learning) enrichment program.  The Bay Area based program recently expanded to the Sacramento Region and offered its services to the Sac High campus location for the first time last year.