During the 2024-25 school year, the Richmond Promise College Access Team will be joined in its work by Near-Peer Ambassadors. These members of our team are current RP Scholars who assist in the execution of in-classroom programming in local high schools. We are pleased to introduce you to one of our 2024-25 Ambassadors, Analucia.

Q: First, some basic info. Tell us your name, current school, the high school you graduated from and your major (or intended field of study):

A: My name is Analucia Urias Lopez, and I was born in San Pablo, California but I was raised and grew up in Mexico, in the state of Sinaloa for the first 15 years of my life. I came back to the United States about three years ago to study and graduated from Pinole Valley High School. I’m currently attending Contra Costa College as a first-year and I’m interested in majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

Q: What are you most looking forward to about being an RP Near-Peer Ambassador and what are you hoping to get from the experience?

A: I’d like to introduce high school students from where I live to the scholarship opportunities available for them. Financial aid is one of the main aspects of going to college and the high prices of attendance can represent a lot of stress, or can even restrict students from receiving an education. So, I’d like to provide students with help and resources to apply to the Richmond Promise Scholarship, and other
scholarships that can facilitate their college experience.

Q: If you were going to give advice to a high school senior about going through the college application process, what would it be?

A: The earlier you start to write your essays, the better. Take some time to write a draft, and slowly start editing it or having other people revise it. For this, also take advantage of your college & career center counselors or any college application support program/workshop you find. The essays are one of the most important sections of your entire application and the one that consumes most of your time, and as you progress in your senior year you’ll have to deal with many more deadlines at the same time, so get ahead as soon as possible.

Q: What’s the best part about being in college/what should a high school senior look forward to?

A: Definitely getting to know new people is one of the best parts of transitioning to college. You never stop getting to know more people from a lot of different backgrounds and experiences, and that can be very refreshing. Also getting to enjoy more flexibility and freedom in your schedule is one of the main perks of going to college!

Q: What are you most looking forward to after college?

A: After college, I’d like to obtain a job for a company that allows me to apply my engineering skills. I’d also like to travel to different parts of the world and explore different cultures!