January 21, 2026
Achiever Spotlight: Meet our 2026 College Applicants
January is National Mentoring Month, and at Friends-Boston, we are celebrating the Power of One by showcasing two of our Friends (mentors), Maricela and Kadijah, and three of our 12th-grade Achievers who, with a little help from their Friends, have just completed their college applications. Congratulations LeLe, Destiny, and Amaya!
LeLe was Friends-Boston’s 2025 Achiever of the Year and has been in the program for 12 years. Maricela helped LeLe navigate applications to 10 art and design schools, including the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and School of Visual Arts."
I wanted to focus on art as a career because I was always interested in it," LeLe explains. The application process wasn't easy, but Maricela created space for the work to happen by sitting with LeLe at cafés compiling and submitting portfolios, completing homework, and polishing college essays.
Now, LeLe has been accepted into her top choice schools!
Destiny, has been with Friends-Boston for 9 years. Maricela guided her through applications to 8 schools focusing on nursing, chemistry, biology, and psychology programs. Maricela helped her stay organized and motivated. "They helped me gather everything I needed in life to keep me moving forward with school and just [supported] me through every step of the way," Destiny reports. Looking toward her future, she's grounded and optimistic:
"I have good plans and support around me when needed and I have goals so I'm taking steps to meet those goals." - Destiny
Kadijah has been working with Amaya throughout her senior year. Amaya has been with the Friends-Boston family for 11 years, and Kadijah helped her navigate applications to 10 colleges and universities, many of them HBCUs. Inspired by the entrepreneurship program at Friends-Boston, she is considering majoring in business, but is also interested in chemistry.
For the past year, Amaya worked incredibly hard to bring up her GPA and complete all required essays.
"The challenging part about applying to school was writing the essay because I had to really think about myself and put it all in a powerful essay. Getting accepted was exciting," - Amaya
Kadijah supported her through brainstorming sessions, helped with school selection, and provided encouragement to persevere when the process felt overwhelming. Amaya has already been accepted to Morgan State University and describes her future as "bright and somewhat mysterious."
These stories highlight what effective mentorship looks like in practice. The college application process is challenging for any student, but for youth facing significant barriers, having a consistent mentor can make the difference between aspiring to college and actually getting there. Maricela and Kadijah showed up with patience, persistence, and practical support, turning overwhelming tasks into manageable steps and helping their Achievers believe in their own potential. LeLe, Destiny, and Amaya are proof that when we commit to young people for the long term - 12+ years, no matter what - they don't just survive, they thrive. That's the Power of One.
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