During the 2025-26 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 2025-26 Ambassadors, Italia.

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 Italia Rubio, I’m a sophomore at UC Berkeley who plans to major in English and I graduated from De Anza High School in 2024.

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’m looking forward to meeting and helping students during their senior year as it’s a crucial part of their last year in high school and to provide guidance for students and families would be an amazing experience. I hope to get some hands-on experience working alongside my peers and mentors as I wish to become a teacher and this program allows me to gain some experience with students.

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: Some advice I’d give a high school senior going through the college application process would be to make sure they’re answering the PIQs wisely, as a question may seem easy to answer but you have to write something that isn’t as common a topic.

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

A: The best part about being in college is the new environment, abundance of opportunities, sense of community with others, the freedom you gain from being able to live away from family (if you choose to), and being able to choose your own schedule.

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

A: What I’m looking forward to after college is starting my process of becoming a teacher.