EAST BAY CONSORTIUM

Jaliza Collins

Jaliza Collins received the East Bay Consortium Scholarship in 2006, as she began attending San Francisco State University.  Jaliza is a native of Oakland and attended Media Academy at Fremont High School.  Like many other EBC Scholars, she is a first generation college student.  Long before Jaliza received the EBC Scholarship, she began participating with East Bay Consortium starting at age eleven.  She continued to succeed in her academic endeavors with the help of her two mentors, Boun Khamnouane and Denise Little.  When it came time to apply to colleges, Jaliza recalls their efforts to motivate her.  “Boun would call me every single day to see if I was doing them.”  And of course, they all got completed.

Next, Jaliza recalls the benefits of receiving the EBC Scholarship, which her mentors had urged her to apply for.  Jaliza explains, “I could really focus on my school work rather than on money.” In addition to being a student, she participates in a wide variety of other activities.  Jaliza works for East Bay Consortium, as a college advisor at Castlemont High, coaches basketball, and volunteers with the Oakland Pal Program.  Jaliza’s efforts to give back to the community demonstrate her outstanding character and motivation to help others. 

Jaliza already recognizes the many benefits she has received from going to college.  “It really opened my eyes to a bigger world than I was used to,” she says.  “You never know what’s going to be said in class or seen on campus, so it taught me to speak my mind and not feel judged.”  Her college experience has also strengthened her previous beliefs that a college degree makes a good career possible, and that you should always fight for what you believe.

As for her future aspirations, Jaliza is very confident.  “I will be a lawyer when I get older.  I just love to help people.”  Continuing her trend of helping, Jaliza wants to be an advocate for minorities within the justice system.  She also wants to educate people, since many people don’t understand certain laws.  And while Jaliza achieves her goal of becoming a lawyer, she aspires to give back to the community in so many ways. Jaliza wants to open a recreation center and create her own non-profit organization similar to East Bay Consortium.  Jaliza says, “I don’t know where I’d be without them.  They stayed with me day and night, even when I messed up.”  She realizes that this kind of nurturing is rare, and that is why she wants to give it back to even more children. She also states, “No one should ever give up on a kid.  That’s why EBC was so great.”