“I will be the first person in my family to attend college.” stated Aissatou Sall, a charming young woman with an infectious smile. “My parents are both from the Republic of Guinea and came here for a better life.” 

She noted it is her goal to honor her parents’ sacrifice by taking full advantage of all the opportunities offered to her. A member of the Dorchester Boys and Girls Club since she was six, she has participated in a variety of college focused clubs at both the Boys and Girls Club as well as Bottom Line and EV Kids Boston. She chuckled when she noted that “my parents had us involved in everything, but I know they wanted us to have more opportunity than they did.”

A graduate of Kipp Academy, Aissatou was extremely interested in attending Cristo Rey Boston because of the Corporate Work Study program. She remembered, “I really liked the idea of coming to a school that included a work-study program- work is a different experience and one that many high school students don’t get.” 

She continued, “I really wanted to work in a hospital, since I am interested in medicine as a career. However, with the limitations of Covid, I did not get the chance.” Currently working at Cushman and Wakefield, a real estate development company, she is excited to be interfacing with a lot of different departments and has been assigned an Excel project that is building her skills.

Aissatou noted that learning remotely during Covid was hard, but her grades did not suffer. She acknowledged, “I like learning in a classroom much better, you understand more and have a chance to really ask deeper questions. Seeing people face to face is better.” 

Currently in the second round of both Quest Bridge and Posse Scholar applications, Aissatou is hopeful all her hard work will result in a full scholarship to college. She noted that her family really is not in a financial position to help her with college, and so a full scholarship would be a game changer. 

Deeply passionate about the issues of racism and gun violence, she considers them important topics everyone should focused on. “Everyone should feel safe in their school in the way that I feel safe at CRB.” she commented. She added that attending college will give her an opportunity to dive deeper into all the topics she is interested in.

 
Aissatou concluded, “Going to college will set the path for my younger siblings. They will see me succeed and know that it is an important part of their future as well.”