We have extended the deadline for our student application to Friday, February 25th. If you are still working on an application, or if you have not started one yet, you have until the 25th to submit it and have your application considered!
If you need any support or have any questions, we encourage you to call us at: 651-748-5504 OR email us at: learn@breakthroughtwincities.
Access the application by clicking here!
For 18-year old Max, Breakthrough Twin Cities came around at just the right time. After receiving a scholarship in first grade, he was able to attend a private school from elementary up until the end of middle school. Though he was grateful for the academic opportunity, there was still something missing in his social life.
“I felt really lonely,” Max said. “I had friends, and people knew me, but I felt really isolated being the only Hmong kid [in my grade], and at that point, only one of two Asian boys. I was really self-conscious.”
But then, after a recommendation from one of his teachers, he found out about Breakthrough Twin Cities. Once he applied, he was accepted into the program.
“For the first time, I was able to talk and hang out with kids like me,” Max said. “Being able to connect with people in that way, and to connect with myself, it was like a burst of life.”
And there’s no more accurate way to describe the high-energy pace of a Breakthrough summer. Though academically rigorous, the summer program regularly incorporates games, creative arts, outdoor activities, and even things like dance courses. Apart from preparing students for the next year of school and beyond, the program is built to provide an enthusiastically supportive community to students like Max. His introduction to BTC, he notes, opened up a whole new world of possibilities.
“At first, I was taken aback by the enthusiasm of everyone,” said Max. “I tend to be a low-energy person, and I’m fairly introverted — at least I thought so until I went to Breakthrough. At the time, it felt like I was acting like someone else, but I was really just coming into myself. BTC helped me mature.”
Now a senior at Central High School, Max continues to realize the value of his participation in BTC, and how its impact has extended from his life as a seventh grader to his life now. Although Max had always planned to go to college, BTC provided necessary guidance on how to start planning for it.
“I didn’t know what college was like, I didn’t understand the idea or the concept,” he said. “Breakthrough helped me flesh out that idea, and made the dream that much brighter.”
Max loves English, and he plans to study the discipline when he heads off to college next fall. He’s prepared his applications and eagerly awaits the decision that will determine his next step in life. He’s always been drawn to storytelling, and hopes this passion will develop into a career in the humanities, in social work, or even as a defense attorney.
The one sure thing is that Max won’t forget the student peers and Teaching Fellows who supported him along the way. Even today, he marvels at how much everyone cried at the end of each Breakthrough summer, feeling moved to think that he’d be missed that much by teachers he’d only known for a few weeks. Beyond being an excellent source of academic enrichment, the program became something he was emotionally invested in, too. He can still feel the support of his BTC community today.
“Breakthrough has prepared me to become who I am today and who I will be tomorrow. For me, it was so foundational,” Max said. “Even if it is just a step, it’s a critical step. If I didn’t have BTC, the Max you’re talking to today would be a completely different person with a very different set of experiences.”
Dear Breakthrough students and families,
Due to the anticipated weather conditions, and getting word back that the buses for Saint Paul will not be running tomorrow, we unfortunately must cancel tomorrow’s Saturday Session. This will be for BOTH sites: Saint Paul-Mounds Park Academy and Eastern Carver County-Chaska High School.
Our next Saturday Session is January 22nd, so we hope to see you all then! Please drive safe this weekend and reach out to the program team email below if you have any questions or concerns. Stay warm — we appreciate your understanding!
Thank you,
BTC Program Staff
Email: programteam@breakthroughtwincities.org
Senam is involved in a debutante cotillion program, pictured here.
This month’s “Be Breakthrough” student spotlight is Senam Akyea, a current senior at Highland Park High School.
Senam has embodied many different roles at BTC; not only is she a current BTC student, but she’s been a Teaching Fellow (2020), a Program Intern, and a BTC Student Representative at various events like our annual Booyah Bash. Ever since her first summer at Breakthrough, she couldn’t wait to be involved in these greater capacities.
“From the start, I’ve just been in love with Breakthrough, and there was nothing else I envisioned doing with my summers,” Senam said.
She had a lot to say about her experience as a student in the program:
“Breakthrough is such a huge part of my life. A big part of my Breakthrough experience was having a community that is just super supportive, super loving, and just incredible. I really enjoyed having something that was outside of school — school is just not as engaging as BTC is. I was able to retain the important subjects I needed, especially when I might’ve struggled during the year with certain topics.”
As a senior this year, she prepares for her college search, the culmination of all her efforts from the past five years. Her application essay is nearly complete, she said, thanks to a BTC essay writing boot camp she attended during the summer.
She feels ready to seek out the school of her dreams, where she hopes to pursue a career in psychotherapy. Senam chose this career route because she enjoys talking to people about what afflicts them and she sees a need for Black professionals in the field. She is excited to make great strides in her studies this year and beyond graduation, hopefully attending a school out-of-state and further broadening her horizons.
“Breakthrough gave me the confidence I needed to be myself and speak my mind,” said Senam. “I knew that no one would judge me — it’s a family. We all have a place where we feel loved.”
Keep doing great things, Senam! BTC is lucky to have you, and we’re excited to see where your future takes you.
Pictured is Senam after participating in a student panel for the Association of Metropolitan School Districts.
Check out this awesome video from Myers Communications Group about the importance and impact of our Teaching Fellowship!
Pa Chia Thao is a BTC Class of 2013 and Mount Holyoke College Class of 2017 alumna; check out her 2019 Booyah Bash speech!
My name is Pa Chia Thao and I grew up in an immigrant Hmong family of seven. Neither of my parents had gone to school past elementary, so I never saw myself attending college. It’s not that I didn’t want to, it’s that I didn’t know how to. It is no exaggeration to say that Breakthrough Twin Cities played the biggest part in helping me make this dream of attending college a reality: assisting in editing my application essays, providing ACT preparation, and opening my eyes to the numerous institutions that are out there beyond Minnesota.
In 2017, I obtained my bachelor’s degree at Mount Holyoke College in Western Massachusetts, majoring in astronomy and physics. After graduation, I was selected to be an intern at the Gemini Observatory in Hawai‘i, where I was able to witness the beautiful collaboration of countries coming together to advance astronomy. I am currently working at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, researching young planets beyond our own solar system. The overarching goal of my research is to understand how planets form and evolve throughout their lifetime. How did the planets in our solar system get to where they are today? What makes Earth so special that it’s able to sustain life? This fall, I will begin a Ph.D. program in Astrophysics at UNC. I wouldn’t have gotten here without the help of Breakthrough. What can I say? Breakthrough was more than just a ‘typical’ summer program; it has opened up many doors for me. Although, I am no longer part of the program, the effects of Breakthrough still live in me to this day.
My journey with Breakthrough began in the summer of 2007. On the first day, I remember riding the bus over to Breakthrough, being very nervous and not really sure what to except. When the doors to the bus opened, my anxiety melted away after seeing the contagious smiles and hearing the cheers from all the teachers. As part of Breakthrough, I was surrounded by so many students, who walked different paths of life, but we were bounded by this common goal of wanting to succeed, wanting the same opportunities and the same resources as our fellow peers. The energy, the passion, and the friendships all created a welcoming and positive environment that I could learn and thrive in.
In unique ways, not only has Breakthrough pushed me to voice my own opinion, but it has also helped me develop those opinions. At the beginning, it was quite easy for me to hide in a crowd, but at Breakthrough, I was no longer seen as a number, but rather as an individual. The small classrooms really encouraged participation from the students, and the teachers would go out of their way to make sure everyone spoke. This was hard for me in the beginning because raising my hand in class and speaking in front of everyone made me uncomfortable. But those summers at Breakthrough helped me start to gain the confidence to find my own voice. As a result, I have used that skill ever since – in the classroom, in the lab, in my internships, as well as in my day-to-day life.
In middle school, Breakthrough encouraged me to apply for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship. The staff at Breakthrough invested hours of their time by helping me in every step of the application process, teaching me that it is okay to ask for help. Thanks to Breakthrough, I was selected as a recipient for this scholarship, which has forever changed my life and has helped me reach my full potential. The scholarship has supported me in attending Mounds Park Academy for high school, Mount Holyoke College for undergrad, and now, UNC for graduate school. I am excited for this next chapter of my life at UNC, where I will be a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholar, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
I wouldn’t have had the opportunities to get the education I have without Breakthrough. I wouldn’t be debt free without Breakthrough. And I wouldn’t be where I am today without the generous support of you.
I want to thank Breakthrough donors for believing in this amazing organization, this incredible mission, for making the impossible – possible. I also want to thank all the amazing teachers, who have played a part in fostering a love of learning in each and every one of us. Know that your hard work, your passion, and your dedication have not been forgotten.
And for the Class of 2019: I want you all to take a moment to look around at all the people here tonight who deeply care about your success. No matter how crazy life can get, no matter how difficult it can be, no matter how much time has passed, don’t ever forget that there is a whole community here that believes in you, in your abilities, and your dreams.
2051 Larpenteur Ave E, Saint Paul, MN 55109, USA
