For many students growing up in California’s Central Valley, the University of Southern California exists as a distant name or something heard in passing. From June 1 to 5, middle school students from the area participated in Write to Thrive. The program is a collaborative effort led by the USC Race and Equity Center, Youth 2 Leaders Education Foundation (Y2L) and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. Hosted on USC’s campus, organizers worked to change and open access to the students, one writing scholar at a time.
Now in its second year, Write to Thrive brings middle school students from Kern County to the USC campus for a week-long immersive summer experience centered on literacy, language arts and the expansive possibilities that a higher education mindset can unlock. Through hands-on writing workshops, leadership development activities, dynamic guest speakers and campus tours, students built essential writing, teamwork and leadership skills, while resetting and reimagining future learning possibilities. The program was born directly out of the success of the previous summer’s Teaching Outstanding Math to Migrant Youth (TOMMY) program, which generated excitement from schools across the region. The question that followed was a natural one: why wait until high school to give students access to something this transformative?
“Why don’t we start with them when they’re even younger?” said AJ Mada, equity coaching academy director at the USC Race and Equity Center. The answer became Write to Thrive and the impact has already proven profound.
On a Saturday during this year’s program, Mada walked the USC campus with participating students, showing them meaningful places and fielding their questions along the way. Near the end of the tour, a small group of students approached him. They wanted to thank him because the trip wasn’t just their first visit to a university campus; it was their first time leaving their hometown. The students had heard of Los Angeles and of USC, but they never imagined it was a place they would actually get to see.
“They were just so grateful for this opportunity to ask questions and see it firsthand for themselves,” Mada added. It is precisely these moments that speak to why Write to Thrive exists and why it matters to USC Rossier’s mission to improve learning opportunities and outcomes, and to address disparities that affect historically marginalized groups.
“The partnership we have developed with USC has been incredible,” said Gabriel Adame, president of Y2L. “Our students deserve the opportunity to attend a school like USC, where they feel like they belong.” He added that he and his staff appreciate working with the USC team, who made students feel a sense of belonging. Y2L programs focus on both English Language Arts and Math, which supports the students academically. “We also want to ensure they are being provided with access and knowledge of higher education,” Adame added. “That is our mission at Youth 2 Leaders, and I believe these programs support this mission.”
At the core of Write to Thrive is an investment in language arts. For Sal Avalos, coordinator of the Migrant Education Program (MEP) for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, literacy isn’t simply one subject among many, it is the gateway to everything else. “Language arts to me is pretty much everything,” said Avalos. He added that reading and language arts is the gateway to all other subject matters. “Whether it’s math, whether it’s history or so forth, it builds and brings out their curiosity.” In addition, it increases self-esteem, opens other learning opportunities and builds love for literature, writing and creativity, Avalos added.
Mada discussed the environment program participants were navigating. Debates over the meaning of merit and broader pressures on educational access, make the work of programs like Write to Thrive feel especially urgent. The students participating have already faced challenges many of their peers have never encountered and they are showing up anyway, investing their summers in their own futures.
Write to Thrive is proof that when a university reaches beyond its gates and into communities that have historically been overlooked, it doesn’t just fulfill its mission. It expands what that mission can mean.
The hope is that many participants will return as participants in the TOMMY high school program as students get older, and eventually find their way to higher education and meaningful careers beyond it. “I’m so proud that they are putting their education first,” Mada said.
