Alumni stories and successes

MITES builds the foundation for our scholars’ personal, academic, and professional success. See where students have gone on to attend college and work following our programs, and read about their lives after MITES.

Looking back, MITES has become a pivotal moment in my life thus far.

This program offered more than what was advertised on the website. It offered lifelong connections with people I would have never met in a million years. It offered a family that I can look to in my time of need. And it gave me the confidence to apply to institutions I saw as ‘reach’ colleges. Without a doubt, I would not be where I am today had the MITES staff not blessed me with this opportunity. They saw something in me that I was oblivious to.”

Jose Aceves-Salvador

MITES ’16, Los Angeles, CA

Building on her passion at MITES

A lifelong love of airplanes helped Gibson discover MITES which helped carve a pathway to MIT. “This program gave me the opportunity to study astrophysics and science writing, which was how I was able to narrow down my interest to aviation.”

Success after MITES

For Yenifer Lemus, MITES ’21, the program played a pivotal role as the mediator between high school and college. Making the transition from an urban high school to a traditional rural college is a daunting task—even more so for students who are the first in their families to venture into higher education.

Discovering a career at MITES

As a high school student, Cherish Taylor, MITES ’09, thought that a career in science meant being a teacher or working in a crime laboratory. She found MITES, and never expected how many possibilities would open up.

Where MITES alumni enroll

Our scholars enroll in highly selective colleges around the country. For the 2020-2021 year, these were the colleges with the highest enrollment:

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Where MITES alumni work

Mimi Wahid:

A storyteller dedicated to environmental justice

MITES ’16 alumna, former MITES Summer Teaching Assistant, and former Program Facilitator for MITES Semester, Mimi Wahid shares her passion for environmental justice and identity development. She aims to help students better understand how social environment, experiences, and self-definition shape a person’s identity, and how exploring race, gender, and socioeconomic status can help people understand and discuss their own identities.