Growing up in a northwest suburb of Chicago, Edward Blanco had big dreams and a lot of questions. His parents, immigrants from Guatemala, did not speak English or know how to use a computer. Edward’s academic skills were strong, but the path to college was murky — until the day during his senior year of high school when he was summoned to the auditorium to learn about an organization called One Million Degrees (OMD).

He learned that OMD would set him up with a mentor, scholarship aid and, perhaps most importantly, encouragement.

The program is one of a number of such comprehensive programs across the country achieving striking results in helping low-income students, students of color and first-generation students succeed in college — and that could be scaled nationally through President Biden’s American Families Plan.

Blanco was admitted to the program and enrolled in Harper College, a nearby community college. He began meeting regularly with his mentor, Linda Kolbusz-Kosan. Together, they realized quickly that Edward’s biggest obstacles weren’t his courses or the tuition bill. Blanco shared a small bedroom with three siblings and had no place to study. His parents needed help with household expenses, so he worked four days a week as a cashier at Medieval Times. There was no public transportation to campus, so he had to navigate around his family’s schedule, getting dropped off and picked up at odd hours.

With the support of his mentor, Linda, who he still talks to every day, Edward earned a full scholarship to Illinois State University; there, he was able to live in an apartment with other students and found the space, resources and social support to finish college on time.

Read the full article about supporting disadvantaged college students by Alexander Mayer and Catherine Brown at The Hechinger Report.