On May 13, friends, families, and teachers gathered in the Tabas Auditorium to honor this year’s graduates of Bank Street’s Liberty LEADS. The students have many reasons to celebrate—after several years of hard work at Liberty LEADS, they take their next steps into the world with new skills, expanded horizons, and the confidence to create brighter, more promising futures for themselves.
The evening included remarks from Ana Lisa Tiburcio, Director of Liberty LEADS; Alyssa Lyons, High School Advisor in the program; and several students who shared stories about how they have been most impacted by Liberty LEADS.
“I have grown to be more compassionate and understanding and I believe that Liberty LEADS aided all of this within me,” said Gabriela Araujo, Class of 2016.
Another student, Irza Castillo, shared: “This program means friends, family, fun, connections, and growth. I couldn’t imagine a life without being a part of this program. Back then I would have been most likely in the streets or hanging out with the wrong crowd because I didn’t have anywhere to go. Without Liberty LEADS, I would now be part of the 1.2 million kids that drop out of school every year due to the lack of guidance. I wouldn’t be attending college.
The ceremony was bittersweet—students had to say their goodbyes to the friends and mentors who had become family over the years. But the graduates were all smiles as they listened to each other’s speeches, received their certificates, and officially welcomed the beginning of a vibrant new chapter they created for themselves—which, for many of them, is college.
“I am sure you will all agree that what happens here is magic,” said Tiburcio. “And that magic can be attributed to all the part working together towards a common goal. That goal is to give you, our children a better chance for a better tomorrow.”