SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Finding out what your friends did over the summer can create a spark for different things.
“And it just caught my attention looking at what they did over the summer while I just didn’t do anything,” Eduardo Ruiz said.
For Ruiz, 15 years ago, that moment ignited a light towards resources to help him go to college.
“So I asked for information, I asked what it’s about, how do I get in it, and that’s how I got connected into Wahupa Upward Bound,” Ruiz said. “It’s a nonprofit organization fully funded through the Department of Education,” Mia Bonafilia Vargas, Program Director of Wahupa Upward Bound, said.
Upward Bound is one of the programs of Wahupa Educational Services.
“And we are funded through TRIO. So, TRIO’s roots is actually built to help our indigenous population in San Diego obtain higher education and a pathway to that,” Bonafilia Vargas said.
The name of the nonprofit also embodies that mission.
“We decided to name it Wahupa because it means ‘enlightenment’ in the Lakota Sioux language. So it’s kind of an homage to give back to that community,” Bonafilia Vargas said.
The roots of Wahupa, which has been around since 1973, have grown, touching the lives of and helping low-income, first-generation students of all communities free of charge.
“It was always my dream to further my education. I just didn’t know how until I came across this program,” Ruiz said.
Bonafilia Vargas told ABC 10News they provide academic counseling, tutoring options, community service and more for students like Ruiz when he was at Sweetwater High School.
“We’ve been able to help students achieve anything from scholarships to helping them provide further pathways into what they want do for their career,” Bonafilia Vargas said. “We’re not just providing them a service that’s going to be in the moment. We’re also giving them the ability to grow their generational wealth.”
Ruiz, who still wants to pursue a career in the medical field, is helping those who are in his old shoes.
He now works for the nonprofit as an associate director for Upward Bound and helps other students in the program that helped put him on a brighter path.
“Helping them pretty much navigate the whole process from A to Z,” Ruiz said. “It has been very rewarding for me.”
