San Miguel School Alumni Defy the Odds for College Enrollment

Research indicates that the road to college success begins in middle school. For San Miguel students, this road is well-traveled but never walked alone.

Today, San Miguel School celebrates its Miguel Men from the Class of 2021 as they begin their college journeys—an incredible 88% college enrollment rate that speaks to their determination and the power of walking together. This achievement becomes even more meaningful when considering that nationwide, only 30% of Hispanic males, the peers of San Miguel alumni, enroll in college.

At the San Miguel Class of 2021 High School Graduation Luncheon, alumni donned shirts from their soon-to-be colleges.

San Miguel Graduates: Beating the Odds

For 23 years, San Miguel School has empowered students from underserved communities. The school joins them on their journey in sixth grade and, critically, stays locked in for the long haul—not only supporting them to thrive in middle school, but continuing that support as they graduate from high school, and launch successfully into college, career, and adult life.

Associate Director of Graduate Support Francisco Muñoz (San Miguel Class of 2016) guides a San Miguel student.

San Miguel’s Graduate Support Program provides strategic guidance for alumni to build upon the foundation of middle school success, representing a true covenant with both Miguel Men and their families. When San Miguel School promises to support these young men from sixth grade through college graduation and into their careers, they are not just changing individual lives; the mission interrupts cycles of poverty and limited opportunity that could otherwise persist for generations. Instead, San Miguel alumni chart a new course, establishing a tradition of achievement that serves their own dreams while lifting up their community. 

The Ripple Effect

Every San Miguel graduate becomes a multiplier in his community. They return as mentors, as examples of what's possible, as proof that dreams are attainable. Francisco Muñoz, the Associate Director of Graduate Support, is himself a San Miguel alumnus. He embodies the ripple effect of middle school investment: supported as a student, he now supports others, creating an endless cycle of opportunity and achievement.

In the coming weeks, the San Miguel Class of 2021 will bring the talent, ambition, and virtue they have cultivated to schools like George Washington University, Villanova, the University of Virginia, and many more. Beyond defying college enrollment trends, these alumni prove that when a community invests in its young men and accompanies them along the road to college, extraordinary outcomes become not only possible, but inevitable.