RICHMOND —When Richmond High School senior Cesia Mejia found out she’d been accepted to Columbia University, she was shocked.
Even a few weeks before the deadline, Mejia was unsure if she’d apply for college through the QuestBridge program, an organization that connects low-income students to full ride scholarships at universities across the country.
“I was not confident enough to think about being able to get to a school like Columbia,” Mejia said. “I think I didn’t let myself dream about it.”
But as it came down to the wire, Mejia said, she realized she’d regret not completing the application — so she did.
When Columbia University’s emblems appeared on her acceptance letter, she was both excited and nervous.
“All the hard work, my struggles, the things I went through, they were paying off,” she said.
It would not have happened without QuestBridge, which connects high-achieving low-income students to scholarships at 52 university partners across the county. More than 40,000 students have been awarded full rides covered by the universities, totaling $5 billion, since the organization’s formation in 1994.
The program provided a pathway to higher education for Mejia, who was a star student from an early age.
In Ahuachapan, a city in western El Salvador, she often received certificates recognizing her academic achievements. She enjoyed reading. Learning new subjects seemed to come easy to her.
Her mother, Claudia Bachez, said she remembers Mejia learning to read and write within weeks and never having to push her to study.
All of that changed when Mejia and her family were forced to flee El Salvador under the threat of violence from gangs due to her father’s work as a police officer.
The family of four, including Mejia, her parents and an older brother, settled in the Mexican border town of Matamoros, just south of Brownsville, Texas. Like thousands of others, the family lived in a tent for a year as they awaited an answer in their asylum case.
While in Mexico, Mejia had no formal education. She passed time by reading, socializing with other children in the camp and participating in weekly programming provided by The Sidewalk School, an organization that offers lessons in math, science, English and art.
Mejia and her brother would eventually be allowed into the United States as unaccompanied minors, living with an aunt in Los Angeles for a few months.
“It was really scary for me and also for my brother,” Mejia said. “It was my first time living without my parents. It was scary to be far away from them.”
She was enrolled in the 8th grade, a grade level behind where she should have been, and began remote learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her classes were in English — a language Mejia didn’t speak at the time aside from knowing the names of some colors.
Frustrated, Mejia committed herself to learning it. She changed the settings on her phone to English, read English comic books and added subtitles to everything she watched.
“I felt that I was not learning. I was just standing in front of the screen, hearing the teachers talk and I didn’t understand what they were saying. It definitely held me back,” Mejia said. “Feeling kind of ignorant, feeling that way made me want to learn even more.”
After half a year of separation, the family reunited and moved to the Bay Area where Mejia was enrolled in Richmond High School’s International Academy. There Mejia learned side by side in a bilingual program with students who faced similar struggles.
Still, Mejia craved more challenges and recognized other opportunities in different programs. She worked to transfer to the Media Academy where all classes were taught in English. And she threw herself into volunteer work where she found joy in tutoring children.
Being a “normal” kid didn’t necessarily come naturally to Mejia, she admits. In El Salvador, she was discouraged from becoming too friendly with classmates out of fear it would put her family in danger.
“For me, it was hard to get rid of that idea. It was hard to trust new kids. I knew it wasn’t going to be a problem, they wouldn’t hurt me, but I was scared,” Mejia said.
She credits her International Academy teachers, advisors and friends with helping her find community.
“They understood the struggles I went through. They were really empathetic and supportive. I could talk to them, express what I was feeling, and in that way I felt that really played a huge role in my life,” Mejia said.
Eventually Mejia’s teen years would be filled with self exploration. She took her first class in ballet Folklorico, a traditional Mexican dance known for its rhythmic shoe tapping and vibrant costumes.
Possibly for the first time in Mejia’s life, the new activity didn’t come easy to her but she kept going to classes and has since fallen in love with the dance.
She’s found confidence through the art form, performing on stage and learning to do her own makeup.
Music by American artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish and Spanish musicians such as Rauw Alejandro often plays in her headphones, a reminder that she is just normal teen at heart.
All the while, higher education was always front of mind. She’d eyed enrolling somewhere more local like Stanford University or Cal State Berkeley, that way Mejia would remain close to her family and in a state she’s called home for the last four years.
Her Columbia acceptance was unexpected, but provided a huge validation of her hard work.
“I feel like ‘I went through all of that, but now I’m getting somewhere,’” she said.
While saddened to learn their daughter will be living on opposite sides of the country, Mejia’s parents said they’re excited to see their daughter achieve her academic goals.
“We know how much work and effort she put in. We knew she was going to get a match,” her mother said while joking about plans to move next door to the university to keep her daughter safe.
No one in the family has been to New York. Come this August, they will travel to the big city to drop Mejia off at college.
After earning a degree in public health, Mejia plans to begin medical school with the ultimate goal of becoming a pediatrician. The career path combines her love for her community, one that’s often underserved, with her passion for working with children, Mejia said.
Asked what she’d say to her younger self, Mejia said she would encourage more self compassion.
“I’d say to her, try to embrace more life, embrace who you are and not to be afraid of making mistakes. It’s OK to make mistakes. It’s OK to not know things, and it’s normal,” Mejia said. “But I would also tell her to keep trying hard, keep experiencing different things and meet new people and try to make friends.”