When the Santa Clara Office of Fellowships reached out about the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca ’24 didn’t think much of it. After graduating high school 16 years ago, finishing her bachelor’s degree was the end goal. But after multiple mentors encouraged her to apply, she became the only SCU student selected to be part of this year’s Knight-Hennessy cohort. Salamanca will pursue a master’s degree in Policy Organization, and Leadership Studies (POLS) at Stanford University, joining a graduate fellowship that prepares a diverse community of future leaders to address global challenges.
A double major in ethnic studies and sociology, Salamanca has been questioning educational institutions for years. After discovering she was undocumented in her junior year of high school, a college counselor told her that “people like you don’t go to college.”
“It really shattered my confidence as an academic and as a scholar,” she says.
She found that while 95,000 undocumented students were graduating from high school every year, only 3% attended college and just 1% graduated. “We could be such an asset if we were allowed to continue our education,” she says.