San Diego Resident Sponsors First-Generation College Students
Abhishek Sharma teamed-up with Education First to sponsor the organization’s annual scholarships given to local low-income students who want a college degree. Awards are given to high school seniors who are often the first in their families to attend college.
Abhishek immigrated to the US when he was 15 and remembers his parents taking factory and retail jobs to make ends meet. Their first accommodations were in a basement with no hot water.
For Abhishek, he remembers the countess scholarships and mentors who helped him throughout his education. He graduated from Bowdoin College and recently earned his MBA at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. He now works as a Senior Product Manager at Dexcom, a manufacturer of continuous glucose monitoring devices which help patients and healthcare professionals better manage diabetes.
Abhishek is committed to “paying it forward” to students who aspire to go to college in order to fulfill their career goals. Here he is seen with winners Marco Tamez and Islam Ahmed from Crawford High School.
Marco is headed to San Diego State University to study business while Islam plans to earn a degree in aviation from Harris-Stowe State University.
In addition to their respective scholarships to assist with tuition, access to a professional college coach is also provided by Education First though a strategic partnership with College Forward.
Abhishek says, “College can be full of unpredictable obstacles – this way they have more than just a paper check, but the needed support to be successful in school.”