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Sowing Confidence to Reap Possibilities As a middle schooler at Hill-Freedman World Academy, an international baccalaureate school, Shakira Ray was on the path to a promising future. Her path widened irrevocably when she joined Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia in 2014. “The program was very instrumental to my academic success,” said Shakira. The depth and breadth of the curriculum, as well as the range of experiences shared with a diverse group of peers and teachers helped her confidence...

Mixing Tracks as an Eye Opener It’s not easy to predict what will spark possibilities in life, but it can be as unexpected as spinning records. As a Scholar in one of the first Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia classes, Cristen Pierce took DJing classes as part of her middle school electives and, besides the fun creative moments, she also felt her world expanding. “I don't know why I was into DJing, but I enjoyed it,” said Cristen. “I never would have thought of taking DJing as a course,...

A Passion for Learning Finds a Home Rustin Smith always enjoyed studying and learning, so when he heard that an academic enrichment program for middle schoolers was starting up in his neighborhood, he knew he had to join it. Scholar Alumnus: Rustin Smith In the summer of 1995, Rustin enrolled in the first class at Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia (then Summerbridge). He can still remember feeling amazed when he met the Teaching Fellows, and even thrilled when he understood that they, too,...