Dear Donors and Advocates,

It's back to school - for our 23 new junior High School Fellows, 13 returning senior High School Fellows, 19 new and returning College Student Leaders, 18 of whom are former High School Fellows, and 2 Program Resource Fellows.

That's right - we are now serving 58 new and returning students. MTB is in our sixth year of programming in Passaic, NJ!

Meet our Newest College Student Leaders

Meet our 12 new College Student Leaders, ambitious and talented first-generation college students who will mentor their younger peers - high school juniors in the Passaic Public Schools – as their mentees work to achieve their higher education goals. All our new Leaders are former MTB High School Fellows, so they know from personal experience the importance of MTB's mentoring program and are trained and ready to pay it forward.

Returning College Student Leaders

Despite challenges, all of our returning Leaders continue to persist in higher education and in supporting their younger peers.

New Program Resource Fellows

Taking on new leadership positions are Ashley Delgado and Manan Raval. This summer, they led the MTB Summer Training Program for College Student Leaders and the MTB Summer Program for rising senior High School Fellows. Manan and Ashley have served as College Student Leaders in MTB for three years, and Ashley was a member of the inaugural class of MTB High School Fellows. As Program Resource Fellows, they will continue to take on new responsibilities within MTB over the upcoming academic year as they complete their college degrees.

#DREAMHIGHER2026

Congratulations to Melissa

Melissa Reyes, a former College Student Leader (2021-2024) Program Resource Fellow (2024-2025) in MTB was selected for the Sonia and Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program. She served as an intern at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 

Melissa graduated in June 2025 as a salutatorian with a major in Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies and a minor in geography. She studied Latino communities and immigrant labor organizing in the United States.

Thank You to our Newest Partners, Computers4People and Project Readiness

With new backpacks full of school supplies and top-quality refurbished computers, our students have the tools they need to thrive in school. Our newest partners have provided for our students while allowing us to devote our resources to the student stipends that give our students time and space to come together as a community of first-generation college student success.

Looking Back with Pride

Congratulations to our graduates! MTB celebrates our 15 2025 High School Fellows, off to Rutgers, Vassar, Montclair, Stevens Institute of Technology, Duke, and more. Huge kudos as well to our 8 new first-generation college graduates, Melissa (Dartmouth), Evelin and Kamila (Kean), Nereida and Jocelin (Montclair), Michelle (Emory), and Roselyn (Fairleigh Dickinson). 2025 Grads, you continue to inspire us!

Thank You to Generous Donors and Foundations

We couldn't do this without you! We are grateful to recent funders including Blue Foundry Charitable Foundation, the Arman N. Roy Foundation, Focus for Health Foundation, an Anonymous Family Foundation, the ACT Giving Committee.

We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a three-year grant of $157,500 from the Johnson Scholarship Foundation. Stay tuned for more news about how we plan to use these resources to support more students in Passaic and coming soon Plainfield, NJ!

Do you know someone who would like to know about More Than Bootstraps? Please help us connect with them! Share their name and email or phone number with us and consider making a warm introduction for us. Help us grow the MTB community!

Audrey Fisch, Ph.D., President, More Than Bootstraps

audrey@morethanbootstraps.org | (908) 397-0893

More Than Bootstraps builds a community of first-generation, underrepresented students who empower each other to access and succeed in higher education. More Than Bootstraps is a 501(c)3 organization, Tax ID 83-2245008. For more information, visit www.morethanbootstraps.org.