14: Barriers to Accessing Higher Education with Maria Medrano

Welcome back to another episode of More Than a Monolith.  I am really thrilled to introduce you to our guest today, Maria Medrano.  I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Maria for about 15 years when her daughter enrolled in the school I had the honor of leading.  Maria, her husband Mauricio and I quickly connected through our passionate belief in the access and opportunity for underrepresented youth.  Since meeting her, I’ve continued to be inspired by Maria’s leadership in top positions at Cisco, Visa and Google.  Recently, Maria shared with me the decision to leave it all behind so she can accomplish her mission: To help end generational poverty through educational attainment for everyone.  While the goal sounds big, she’s the one to make it happen.  In this episode, we talk about college completion and transfer  rates for AAPI youth, barriers to accessing higher ed and the financial challenges for our families.  Today’s episode is sponsored by SoundMind, an immersive wellness platform students can use as a mind management tool for emotional and phsyical wellness using music therpay.  Used by over 250,000+ students across the nation SoundMind is the leading mental health app for youth, including recently named Top 6 Mental Health Apps for Kids by Parents Magazine.  You can learn more and access theur Mental Health Toolkit by visiting www.soundmind.app.