It’s graduation season across San Diego County’s high schools, and that means one thing at Reality Changers: celebrating the hundreds of students who will become the first generation in their family to attend college.

One of them is Southwest High School senior Lucerito Gutierrez. Since she was a little girl, she used to help her mother make ends meet collecting bottles and cans to recycle for cash. But that didn’t stop her from becoming a top-student at her school, where she’s taking four Advanced Placement (AP) classes.

Lucerito’s hard work has had its rewards: The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation will pay for her entire college education, from bachelor to doctorate degrees.

“What my peers in my AP classes don’t know is that even with this scholarship, and my four AP classes, four times a week, I still dig in trash cans to help make sure that we can survive,” she said, proudly.

This fall, she will attend the University of California, San Diego, where she will major in electrical engineering.

Lucerito’s story is typical for students enrolled in Reality Changers, a program that helps youth from low-income families get into college created 12 years ago.

Two hundred of those students were recognized at an event last Sunday, May 19, 2013, at the University of San Diego at an event attended by more than 2,000 people. The event, entitled “America’s Finest: A Celebration of Education in San Diego,” is a highly-emotional staged production consisting of music, videos, student presentations and more.

Back when Reality Changers was started, it only had a handful of students, and founder and president Christopher Yanov only had $300.

“The organization has grown in so many different ways. Four years ago we only had 3 1/2 employees, and today we have over 25,” says the VP of Communications Marshela Salgado, “We started with only $300, and in twelve years we have given away over $3,000,000 and our students have earned over $20,000,000 in scholarships from all sources. It’s more than I think even our founder imagined in such short time.”

Indeed, Yanov said that Reality Changers’ success is a community effort.

“Doubling the amount of students we serve in both of the past two years not only shows how low-income, inner-city youth have a great desire to become first generation college students, but it also demonstrates how the people of San Diego are willing to support such success stories in the making,” he said.

The celebration event has been recognized as one of the top nonprofit events of the year by some of San Diego’s most influential leaders. Mayor Bob Filner has attended three years in a row, along with other local leaders.

Local officials that attended the event included SDUSD School Board Member Marne Foster, Incoming SDUSD Superintendent Cindy Marten, SDUSD Superintendent Bill Kowba, Mayor Bob Filner, Assemblymember Shirley Weber, and Assemblymember Toni Atkins.

The mission of Reality Changers, a non-profit organization is to provide inner-city youth from disadvantaged backgrounds with the resources to become first generation college students by supplying academic support, financial assistance and leadership training.

To learn more about Reality Changers, please visit www.realitychangers.org.