Students Rising Above selects Sonoma student

Sonoma Valley High School (SVHS) senior Diana Torres has been selected to participate in the Students Rising Above program. She is the first student from SVHS to be selected since 2016.

Students Rising Above describes itself as the most successful college completion program in the nation. The nonprofit organization sends low-income, first-generation college students to four-year colleges and universities. Since 1998, SRA has helped nearly 600 students graduate from a four-year college.

Torres will receive comprehensive support, personal relationships and college and career guidance.

Torres attended Flowery Elementary and Adele Harrison Middle School before attending SVHS. She is the oldest of seven children and will be the first person in her family to attend college.

“Torres loves to learn and is motivated by learning,” said College and Career Center head Lisa Conner. “She is a determined student who pushes herself to excel - proving to herself she can overcome or master any subject.”

Torres has her sights set on a four-year college and she thinks she might want to explore a major in medicine and anthropology.

While SRA is not a scholarship program, it helps its participants to leverage as much outside financial aid and scholarships as possible so that they complete college with as little student loan debt as possible.