Hoos First Look raised thousands of dollars from the Jefferson Trust, the UVA Parent’s Fund and the Office of President (Jim Ryan is also a first-gen student) to enable them to pay for the high school students’ travel, lodging and food for a weekend packed with programming, including tips on how to fill out financial aid forms and write college essays.
On a sunny fall Friday morning, the visitors filed into the ballroom in Newcomb Hall for the kickoff as shafts of sunlight streamed into the building. While most of the high schoolers were from Virginia, several had traveled long distances. Castillo and another Floridian, Daniel Sanchez, boarded planes and arrived in Charlottesville to a warm welcome Thursday evening.