By Don Krim

 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” ― Charles Dickens

 

Wisdom…belief…light…hope. The spring of 2021. Easter and Passover have come and gone.

 

In just a couple of months high school and university senior students will graduate. University freshmen will breathe a collective sigh of relief that they made it, with an eye towards a better sophomore year. High school seniors will begin their university applications or look for alternatives. University students continuing their education will soldier on.

 

Jóvenes Adelante (JA) serves 107 of these ongoing students with a few due to graduate soon. It serves four high school seniors and will be serving a new class of 2021, arguably the finest crop of students collectively we have ever had to choose from. For many the answer they hope for, entry into the family of Jóvenes Adelante, will be a critical life-altering moment: the moment when they can be confident for the first time in pursuit of their educational objectives that their destinies are in their own hands. They will reach their Destinos Brillantes with JA support as long as they stick to their plan, maintain their academic standings and continue to develop their potential.

 

San Miguel de Allende is a city confronting its past and its future. The tourist industry reels from collapse hoping to recapture a lost year while the workforce looks elsewhere. Industry and information technology in the Bajio region of Mexico strive to maintain a footing as they navigate a changing and struggling economy. What a difference a year makes.

 

While some nine million students nation-wide have dropped out of school this past year,

 

San Miguel is living a renaissance of interest in higher education (JA had over 550 applicants in 2021). What do these students, and their families know?

 

That education is the key to long term, transformed lives. 

 

The greatest gift of philanthropy is to provide for an education. The greatest promise of a new near-term future for San Miguel, for Mexico, is a new generation of university graduates. That is the story of Jóvenes Adelante and of our students, our graduates, our aspirants, our mission and our vision.

 

“Both women and men have suffered from injustices…I want to study law because it is a beautiful career, and I have always liked to help people; I want to stop [the] committing [of] so many injustices and abuses. Our country needs a change and I want to pursue my dreams, I want to be part of the change.” 2021 applicant, “Sonia.”

 

To be a part of that new near term future, to financially support that vision and a student, to build the San Miguel of the future, to invest in the community of your first or second home visit jovenesadelante.org or please contact donkrim@jovenesadelante.org.