Cendy Vides, the founding director of family and community engagement at The SEED School of Los Angeles County, shares her story and what fuels her commitment to the students and families of the SEED LA community.
I am the first in my family to graduate from high school, a four-year university, and a master’s degree program. I am the daughter of my Mami who, in search of the American dream, left my sister and I with my grandmother in El Salvador. I was four years old, and my sister was two. It was not until I was eight years old that my Mami had finally saved enough money to bring me to the United States. I raised my hand to my grandmother when asked if I was ready to go, and my journey with a coyote had begun.
Years later, in my freshman year English class, I heard a presentation on a college prep program and all the opportunities it offered. I wasn’t sure what I was joining, but all I knew was that I had to do better for myself and to honor the sacrifices my Mami had made. I decided to join Upward Bound and spent six weeks of every summer preparing to go to college. I even had internships at the California State Capitol and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. I knew that my Mami could not offer me these traveling opportunities or guide me through the college prep process, because up until this day, she does not know how to speak English.
Ever since I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I have dedicated my professional career to guiding, mentoring, and supporting first generation, low-income students and families in their pursuit of a college education. This work matters! As I was searching for an organization where I could continue to grow, I came across The SEED School of Los Angeles County (SEED LA) and The SEED Foundation. I immediately connected with the SEED values: Respect, Responsibility, Perseverance, Integrity, Compassion, Gratitude and Growth. And I told myself: Wow, those are values that I live by, not just professionally, but personally, as well. I remember seeing the videos about the impact a college-prep boarding high school was going to bring to Los Angeles. I thought, “This is like my Upward Bound, but instead of an afterschool and summer program, it was the entire 24-hour, five-day-a-week preparation for college.” I immediately wanted to be part of this new model that was coming to make a difference in so many students and families' lives. I knew so many families in LA would benefit from a college-preparatory boarding school option.
My first day at The SEED School of Los Angeles County was March 2, 2023. I started as the school operations manager but quickly transitioned to the director of family and community engagement. During our first New Student Orientation training, our CEO Lesley Poole told us, “Working at SEED means you will work harder than you have ever worked before, but it will all be worth it!”. And she was completely right. Since my first day at SEED LA, I have worked endless hours supporting our staff, students, and families. I do it because I love it, because this work is changing generations to come, and because a college degree opens doors and opportunities that many of us and our kids would have never been exposed to. The long hours are so worth it when you hear a family reflect on why they chose SEED LA. In a parent panel recently, a mom of one of SEED’s Class of 2026 students said, “My husband didn’t graduate high school, I barely graduated high school, but now I know that my son will be the first in our family to graduate college.” This is the impact! This is the why!
SEED LA is important for our scholars and families because it will give them the opportunity to graduate from a four-year college or university. The support that they will receive while in college is unmatched by any other high school in California. It is important because our families would not be able to afford a boarding high school otherwise. It is important for those families that feel that their students are safer at SEED LA than their own neighborhoods. It is important for the families that need additional support and guidance. It is important for the student that feels that SEED LA is home. Our students' lives will forever be positively impacted, and their trajectories will change generations around them and after them.
Being the first in my family to graduate from a four-year university and now being one of the founding staff members to start and open the first tuition-free, college preparatory, STEM high school in California is a dream come true. Since our opening on Sunday, August 28, 2022, we have welcomed 188 families into our SEED LA home. Our first 76 founding scholars have already changed the Los Angeles landscape. They have invested over 4,680 hours in preparation for college through our 24-hour, five-day-a-week model. They have established our first clubs and sports teams, and they have gone on many field trips. They traveled to Miami to pitch their business ideas at the Grant Cardone Enterprises 10X Kids Pitch Off and came back with $22,000 to start their own businesses. Eight of our scholars traveled to Brazil on a two-week experiential learning trip. Our programming for families ensures that they are on this journey with us every step of the way. We have hosted the Gratitude Dinner, the Dream Ceremony, Parent University Day at UCLA, Parent Support Workshops, and more.
I am grounded in my work through the stories of our SEED LA families because I care. If you had told me as a little eight-year-old girl that left El Salvador in search of my Mami where I would be today, I would have not believed it.
