By Natasha A. Moran,

Pa’Lante is a student organization that started in 2013. Pa’Lante is run by Ms. Kelly O’Brien and Mr. Licier, as well as Ms. Melissa from the University of Baltimore.  They have formed this program in order to help students proceed in life and get to a point beyond relying on their parents. In this program, we visit colleges and universities like Towson University, the University of Baltimore, and Johns Hopkins University.  They do this in order to help us prepare for our life after high school by making sure we get done now what we would most likely need in the future.

The leaders of the group don’t just like helping Hispanic and other minority students, but also love helping those in need and those who let themselves be helped.  The program takes teenagers from grades 9-12 and helps them with any challenges they face, whether in or outside of school.  Twelfth grader Alvaro Flores says, ” Pa’Lante is a very motivating and helpful organization; it has helped me prepare for college and motivated me more for it”.  Jennifer Moran states “Pa’Lante has helped me to recognize that a degree makes a difference in your life, not just a high school degree but a college degree; it helps you find better opportunities in life as an adult”.  Jennifer, who graduated from Patterson, is still a student in college and believes that the leaders of the program do an outstanding job.

One of the recent trips was to the University of Baltimore where the students attended a college fair.  This helped us to prepare for college by being exposed to more colleges, especially the juniors and seniors. We attend this gathering every year. We always have more and different questions to ask and more colleges to see.

Pa’Lante also helps us with scholarships. For example, last year they had the Susana De Moya foundation come in and give us scholarships or gifts.  The requirements for this scholarship were to be able to provide proof that you or your parents are from the Dominican Republic and to submit an essay about an impact on your life. The winners of this scholarship this year were Brandley De La Cuz and Alejandro Jimenez.