Two unbelievable, i didnt think that i would be able to come back and actually teach at the school that i went to school and pick reps get the california natives dedication to education showed early on. First, as a clm sroo ntluis about dreamers and integration. Reporter Community Concerns inspire brendas teaching but it is her family who has her heart. My parents went up to third grade in mexico and then stopped going to school either to go to work or to help at home. Reporter brendas parents came to america to give their children the Educational Opportunities that they never had. But, it was tough. Both lost their jobs, then came some devastating news. Brendas mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Diabetes and, it was medical condition after medical condition. Reporter her father to anywhere he could get. He always taught my siblings and i that everyone something we need to work hard and there will be obstacles but you have to overcome them to get to where you want to be. Reporter brenda took his advice and is pursuing a masters in education at uc santa cruz with a multiple subject teaching credential and bilingual studies. It is pretty funny. Reporter her first grade teacher, now a colleague. Is very exciting and self fulfilling. It just feels so good to see her here. Reporter it is a welcome that brenda appreciates. . I really love that about the whole community being like welcome all of us back whatever we won two. Reporter with her mother in remission and father back to work, the whole family is celebrating brendas bright future. Goal and dream that was fulfilled for all of us because i am the first of my grandparents 25 grandchildren to receive a bachelors degree. Reporter sra alumni Eddie Williams made a promise to finish his education, and he kept it. But he also made a promise to himself, fulfilling a lifelong dream to play pro ball. When we first met students rising above scholar Eddie Williams, he was a teenage football star with a big dreams of going pro. His baby face lot belied a maturity gained through hardship. To me it seems all the things happening you are learning about life a little bit earlier than you should have to. You just want to go play outside with your friends and on your bike. Reporter instead, and he was coping with the kinds of problems that might have crushed others. A father who wasnt around, a mother who died of cancer when eddie was in middle school speaking in last months gala, eddie reflected on those times. I promise my mother before she died that i would go to college, that i would work hard and that i promised her im going to go play in the nfl. Reporter a promise fulfilled when eddie left the university of idaho and was drafted to the nfl in 2009. But, as eddie told students at the gala, even that he knew something was missing. Finding success and finding purpose are not the same thing. As far as the nfl was, i realized that we, as human beings, we need transcendent purpose in order to thrive. Reporter was after football the eddies career took an unexpected turn from the pitch to the bullpen. The surfaces goes bait bay church is refined eddie this morning, its a young church and he is the proud senior pastor. Jesus must come into you and change you from within. Reporter with his words he hopes to inspire a new generation, and see his Fledgling Church grow in the same way that he has grown with the help of students rising above. To know where i come from, i am married and have kids. To see our family forage flourish and see the role that sra has played, it is amazing. Next up how some sra scholars are working towards careers in stem. If you see wires down, treat them all as if they are hot and energized. Stay away from any downed wire, call 911 and call pg e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. When isabella lost her father, she vowed to make education her top priority. Now, she is studying stem. I am living a life that i never thought i would have. Reporter isabella is excited about her future. I want to be a pediatrician and help kids. Reporter the 20 when he 21 yearold rising junior is well on her way to achieving those goals as she enters uc santa cruz is studying stem. I tell people that in chemistry biology major and people look at me like i am crazy. And i like it so much fun, it is Reporter College is clearly a joy for isabella. High school was different. My High School Experience was as my father going to come home alive today . Reporter teenage isabella watched as she saw her father battle alcoholism. I had a lot of late nights where i would be in the er until about two or three in the morning, and had to be at school the next day. Reporter with her mom out of the picture, isabella took on a job to help pay the bills. The stress began to take a toll. So she made the difficult decision to move out. In some ways i felt free, in some ways i felt selfish for being free. Reporter then came some devastating news. Her father passed away. I felt like in a way, i had failed him. And, that was hard. I wanted him to have his world and his world was me. Reporter to ease her grief, she reached out to students rising above, sharing her story at a recent sra event provided her with a newfound confidence. I was surrounded at that time by a group of people who knew my life mattered too, and it was one of the greatest feelings that i could describe. I think itll be nice to study something out of my comfort zone. Reporter now she is looking forward to school and honoring her fathers memory. Sharing my story made me realize that my life did matter. And, that my fathers did too. Reporter this young man is also making a difference is in his community by serving those who need medical care. Ramon greets patients every week at a free Healthcare Clinic serving the sacramento area. He is fluent in spanish, a skill his patients appreciate. Being able to translate for patients that dont understand a few words or just knowing that the patient is reassured and comfortable with having a spanishspeaking person there, that brings me happiness. Reporter helping others improve their health is personal to ramon. When he was 12 years old his father was diagnosed with cancer. I saw how much help he needed and, how hard it was that we didnt have people in the medical field helping us who spoke spanish. Reporter has mother struggle to understand the English Speaking doctors treating her husband. It was kind of like translators who do not translate well. Reporter then ramon, an active Soccer Player found himself needing medical care after touring tearing his acl after a great game. Surgery soon via followed, and unable to attend classes, his grades slipped. I was depressed and i said i cannot let myself fall into this mode. R onor rer r dected ermiy,et school and bringing his gpa up to a 3. 9. Now, a sophomore at uc davis majoring in human development, ramon is volunteering, checking in patients at [ Foreign Language ]. Even if it is little as taking their vitals is really important to me and to them. Reporter volunteer clinic doctors are impressed. The students are here because they are so idealistic. Reporter ramons father is impressed too, he is now cancer free and proud of his son service to others in the immigrant community. Seeing that you are impacting is not the world, at least some people, that is the best gift that you can give. Reporter up next, reaching for the stars is a common theme among the sra students, but how do they achieve those dreams . We will tell you what sra does throughout the year to help support its programs. Not only does sra have incredible students and alums, it also has a tremendous to community support, this year at the annual gala both recognized, and celebrated, Christin Ayers has a story. For former nfl fullback Eddie Williams, tonight is a homecoming. Hes about to deliver the keynote address for the students rising above gala at the ritz carlton in san francisco. It is kind of surreal to be honest. Reporter 14 years after he was an sra scholars sitting in the crowd, dreaming of a brighter future. Im so honored to be here with you guys, thank you so much for having me. Reporter tonight, the room he will address is full of young people who survived turbulent lives and have come out on top. Guided by their mentors at students rising above. Demond is one of them, when we met him back in 2014 he was president of the black Student Union at santa clara high school. And captain of the basketball team. What many of his classmates did not know then was that his mother was struggling to pay the bills. Was not easy at all, i was to through, i strived. Right into Marshall College and then five years later he takes the stage at the students rising above gala with an update. After graduation i received a fulltime offer at the New York Times and i was the first in my family to graduate from college. Reporter students rising above executive director Carlita Martin says these are the Success Stories that have fueled sra over two decades. We have alumni that are changemakers, data scientists, we are still raining a lot tonight. Reporter on this night, 75 students stand waiting for the names of the colleges they will attend next fall. And when keynote speaker Eddie Williams takes the stage, he is these words for them about the power of their painful stories. Wield your story as a weapon against hatred and division and injustice and evil. Push back the brokenness in other peoples lives with grace and peace. Reporter now, recognizing some people who help make Higher Education a possibility for sra scholars Christin Ayers looks at the donors who keep the organization running. Reporter this is what you see when a student rising above scholar succeeds. The cap and gown, the pomp and circumstance. But what you do not see are the shoulders they are standing on, the donors who see the students rising above and keep it running. Tonight they are gathered for the inaugural society event, a chance for a select group of legacy donors to meet the students they have helped get into college. I was not necessarily aware of my vocabulary because it was a lack of money. Reporter with the help of students rising above and these donors, he will be a fresh and freshman auc percent in the fall. I want to get into cybersecurity or a digital architect. He thinks it to you i was the first in my family to graduate from college. Reporter jessica castro, once a students rising above scholar, is now paying it forward. She is employed with sra as their Sales Administrator and data force engineer, she would not be here with all the people in this room. Being here at an event where we get to meet and work with a lot of people who truly support college access, it is really, really empowering. Reporter is not just the scholars honored to be here. The donors say it is the student to keep them inspired. Just gives you goosebumps to hear the student stories and struggles, and yet how they still can stay connected and focused on what their goal is. And then being able to fulfill their dream of going to college when i thought that was something that would never be able to do. Reporter to explain more about how sra works we have the sra director of student programs lorna, thank you. The big question is how can a student be an sra scholar . Our application process opens up october 1st and goes for a few months until march 4th. All applications are due march for the students all over the bay area can apply. We are serving specifically low income, firstgeneration students and they need to see education as their way out of their circumstances. We want to hear what they are rising above and why they see education as a next step to elevate who they are and, to elevate those families around them as well. You get so many applications and letters telling such compelling stories. How do you even begin to choose from them . It is a really hard process and every year it is really difficult to read through all the applications. But, we are really looking for students who can highlight how they are leaders in their community. That can be as simple as having a family at home that they support or, Student Leadership at their designated schools. It can also be a focus on how they want to continue to better help their altruism. How they will give back to their communities as they pursue postsecondary education. Paying back. Really important. We talked about sra, we talk about the scholarship part but you do so much work year round. Is really important to stay in contact with the student day to day. Most of our advisors are communicating with our kids once a week, once every two week period when they go to college we are still in contact over phone, over text messaging, and when they come back for the holidays and any other breaks that they have from their colleges, we are making sure that we are in person with them and meeting them where they are at to check in. You are an alum. Which is amazing. You talked about paying it forward and that is what you are doing right now . It is very full circle for me. I was class of 2004 and graduated and then attended st. Marys college to get my degree in politics. A few years out of college i decided that i wanted to be an advisor for sra and that was a very special moment for me with my first class of seven students and that transformed into a lifelong career. That is absolutely amazing. My daughter goes to a saint marys, awesome school. Thank you so much. Next up, one sra scholar has found a unique way of expressing himself through photographs. We will also show you how another scholar is making his mark right here at cbs. If you see wires down, treat them all as if they are hot and energized. Stay away from any downed wire, call 911 and call pg e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. An estimated 8 million americans have an eating disorder and nearly 90 report that their illness started before age 20. Paulo arrosco struggled with his own eating disorder but has found unique ways to inspire others. This is how i feel, this is what i go through. Reporter through his camera lens, paulo Caesars Palace in the palm of his hand. I used to wrapped my hand around my wrist and that was my measuring tool. Reporter is a fitting rest a measurement tool showing weight loss. With the junior age has ghosted apollo considered success as he battled an eating disorder. I was very skinny, probably like 30 pounds under. Reporter as a young teen he struggle with body image and acceptance. Food became something that he could control. I cannot control the people that wanted to be with me. , i cannot control any of that. I used eating as a control. Reporter friends and family expressed concerns over his shrinking frame and by sophomore year he knew he had to make a change. I knew it was toxic. I said i would do this even though i am scared. Reporter as a part of his path to healing, he picked up his camera and shut his hands to the world, literally. In a series of deeply personal photographs. It is self anger, being mad at yourself. Reporter photos slowly revealed, first to friends and then classmates. Then, finally others who say he is an inspiration. I dont know where he will go, but he will go far. Reporter with every positive reception, his confidence soared. He received counseling and in time the need to control his eating lessons. Doing the social media outreach. Reporter now he is focused on his future, helping others through School Fundraising projects for undocumented Community Members and applying to college where he hopes to study stem. And continue encouraging others to his photography. I need to be the example. If i can heal, so can they. If you, or someone you know, might have eight eating disorder the National Eating disorder has a towline that has support on resources and treatment options. This last students rising above scholar is very special and that is because he is a member of the cbs news family. As Christin Ayers reports, he is making his mark on the campaign trail. [ laughter ] reporter montana governor and president ial candidate Steve Bullock is microphone and up for a big interview with a budding reporter and sra scholar. It is mousses day in iowa. Reporter he is embedded on the president ial campaign trail in iowa for cbs news. He told me if he is elected president. Reporter crisscrossing the state covering political heavyweights ed mayer pete buttigieg. I never thought i would be a television reporting, i knew i wanted to be a journalist and a reporter. I never imagined how that will pan out. Reporter it is an opportunity that almost didnt happen for this child with afghan immigrants. I came here with nothing. I remember the first few months my brother and i would walk around the parking lot looking for quarters because it was fascinating to me that people just leave money on the street. Reporter back in afghanistan his family lived in fear of the taliban. When their home was bombed and their grandfather killed, they escaped to a refugee camp in pakistan for coming to america. Eventually settling in the bay area where he excelled at school and, found students rising above. It is because of students rising above that i am here and have a job now. Reporter sra help with college, saying that musadiq graduated from George Washington college in washington, d. C. But it is his love for journalism and politics that got musadiq here. Is a lot of hours, driving a video that i should but it is always a very rewarding. Reporter reporting on those who hope to be the next president of the United States of america. . I cannot imagine doing anything else. Reporter on the road to realizing his own version of the american dream. All of these extraordinary young people say they owe much of their success to students rising above. Remember, it is easy to learn more about sra and his students and alumni by going to our website, kpix. Com underneath sra. Then, watch for their stories on kpix 5 news on mondays 12 noon and 5 p. M. And sunday mornings at 6 a. M. , and now on our new digital platform, cbsn bay area. Thanks for watching at this look back at some highlights of the 2019 students rising above stories. Stay tuned for more kpix 5 and cbsn bay area programming. Now at 6, then please are on the trail of the blue jean bandit. 18 tragedy devastates a family. The horrific christmas crash along a winding road. Tonight, what happened. The clock is ticking for a group of bay area mothers at the center of an intense battle over a vacant home. Why they say the latest ruling in the case shows they still have a fighting chance. Our top story on kpix 5 and streaming on cbsn bay area three women walk into a store i walk out with thousands of dollars worth of clothing. It is a crime becoming all too common in the bay area. Andria borba is at the sun valley mall in concord for the latest. Reporter we have seen this in concord, in richmond, in union square over and over again. Robberies not being done under cloak and dagger but under broad daylight and with no worries about who may be seeing them. From Surveillance Video inside jcpenney at sun valley mall, nothing seems amiss. Just two women lingering and picking up jeans. Then a third woman enters the frame and suddenly stacks of genes walk, without legs inside, under the conch out of the concord store. Approximate 38 pairs of jeans that were taken and they walked out. Reporter this happened last thursday around 1 30 p. M. To the tune of two grand in stolen denim. Earlier this month at hilltop mall in richmond, steve said clothing piled so high they ca s