{"id":4363,"date":"2022-09-23T11:37:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T15:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/?p=4363"},"modified":"2022-09-23T11:39:15","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T15:39:15","slug":"frank-portes-mining-surprise-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/2022\/09\/23\/frank-portes-mining-surprise-for-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Frank Portes – Mining Surprise for Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Sherry Mazzocchi<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u201cI knew I wanted to do something better,\u201d said Frank Portes (right), of his commitment to pursue higher education. He is shown here participating in the Annual College Decision Day event, held in partnership between New Settlement and the Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Frank Portes was 17 when he stepped off a plane and into a new life.<\/p>\n

Portes had the best of both worlds growing up. Born in New York, he lived in the Dominican Republic. Studying at a bilingual school in Santo Domingo gave him a good command of English and Spanish. It was a seamless transition between summers in Washington Heights with family and winters back on the tropical island he called home.<\/p>\n

At the end of every school year, Portes packed for a New York summer vacation. But after high school graduation, his mother casually mentioned that he should bring more clothes for the trip that\u00a0year.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t be coming back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Portes and his younger sister would be permanently moving to the U.S., she explained. Since he was a U.S. citizen, moving to the States would offer a better future. \u201cShe saw that as a good opportunity for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>While the family had discussed moving before, it always seemed a\u00a0far-off notion. This landed like a bombshell. \u201cI never knew it was going to be this soon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But the surprise decision jump-started his future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I wanted to do something better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
New Settlement offers various programs aimed at youth prepping for college and skills training.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Portes decided to go to college and eventually study law. His mother is an immigration lawyer in the Dominican Republic, and first summer job at age 15 was in a law office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided to go into a political science major and specialize in immigration law,\u201d he said. \u201cThat way I can help my community have a better way of living, and live in a better world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The non-profit is marking its 10th anniversary this fall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Being born in the U.S. afforded him opportunities some never have. \u201cFor undocumented immigrants it can be very hard,\u201d he said. \u201cMany, many people like me come to this country and just want to earn a living for their families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A family member told him about New Settlement, a Bronx-based non-profit dedicated to strengthening communities and offering assistance with housing, employment and education. The services at the organization, which is marking its 10th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary this fall, are free.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the most amazing part,\u201d said Portes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
College Advisor Shuba Maniram was impressed by Portes\u2019 dedication.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Portes met College Advisor Shuba Maniram at New Settlement. She worked closely with him, meeting regularly to fill out complicated financial aid forms and helping craft the all-important college essay.<\/p>\n

Admissions officers look at personal statements to get a sense of prospective students. It is one of the most difficult things a young person will ever write, not only because some 17-year-olds struggle to express themselves, but mostly because many young people lack the life experience to write a compelling story.<\/p>\n

Portes wrote about the unexpected end of his idyllic youth, and how it thrust him into a world filled with possibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou only have 650 words,\u201d Maniram said of the\u00a0typical essay. \u201cHe wrote about what that meant for him. He was going to use this opportunity to continue to do the things he cared about here,\u201d she said. \u201cIn writing the essay he was like, \u2018I want to express how grateful I am for this opportunity, but also how it took me by surprise.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Participants (including Portes) hang out with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson during Decision Day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maniram was impressed by Portes\u2019 dedication. The essay underwent several drafts before reaching perfection. They carefully selected schools, focusing on CUNY and SUNY schools. Portes took a gap year to qualify for in-state tuition. He also took advantage of New Settlement\u2019s Young Adult Opportunity Initiative Program, which helped him build skills and find employment.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrank was like, \u2018If it can help me, I want to be there,\u2019\u201d Maniram said. \u201cHe had the energy for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Portes set his sights on State University at Buffalo as his first choice. It is a competitive school with an accelerated 3 + 3 Program, which combines an undergraduate degree with a law degree. He knew it would be difficult because his senior year of college would also be his first year of law school. But it saves a year\u2019s worth of college tuition.<\/p>\n

With help from New Settlement and his own skill and determination, Portes was accepted last spring and is starting school this fall.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u201c[Portes] had the energy,\u201d enthused his advisor of his commitment to the rigorous admissions process.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He also selected Buffalo because of its diverse student population. \u201cGrowing up in the D.R., you find a lot of different people, different ethnicities, different economic places, different religions, different colors,\u201d he said. \u201cYou see a lot of different people and it\u2019s no different when you move to New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut,\u201d he said of the upstate school, \u201cit\u2019s still mostly, you know, white people.\u201d Growing up in different states, immersed in various languages and cultures,\u00a0Portes said he always understood everyone deserves respect. \u201cWe are all the same, it doesn\u2019t really matter. So, if anything, I will use this to prove my own strength, and my dedication to myself,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m also looking forward to having a lot of fun and making new friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Challenges lie ahead. His\u00a0grade point average has to remain high to stay in the program. His senior year will be the equivalent of simultaneously studying two majors. Portes said New Settlement\u2019s College Access Center gave him what he needed to get into school. But their Success Program helps students who are in college stay in school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey give you emotional support if you need it,\u201d he said. \u201cThey always tell us college is a good place to find yourself, have a lot of fun, make a lot of friends. But you have to remember your main goal is to learn and get that degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the full story, please visit thebronxfreepress.com\/mining-surprise-for-success<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Sherry Mazzocchi \u201cI knew I wanted to do something better,\u201d said Frank Portes (right), of his commitment to pursue higher education. He is shown here participating in the Annual College Decision Day event, held in partnership between New Settlement and the Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF). Frank Portes was 17 when he stepped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":4369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4363"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4367,"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4363\/revisions\/4367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsettlement.org\/cac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}