--- title: The New Path to College Admission description: One first-generation college student's inspiring story canonical: https://time.com/3661720/how-a-high-schooler-made-it-to-the-state-of-the-union/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-21T12:00:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:35.006Z article:section: Politics og:title: The New Path to College Admission og:description: One first-generation college student's inspiring story og:url: https://time.com/3661720/how-a-high-schooler-made-it-to-the-state-of-the-union/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9bb86aae31e160c/69877ae806f2c1a4f933381a/screen-shot-2015-01-20-at-11-34-24-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1900 og:image:height: 1069 og:image:alt: screen-shot-2015-01-20-at-11-34-24-pm.png og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The New Path to College Admission twitter:description: One first-generation college student's inspiring story twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9bb86aae31e160c/69877ae806f2c1a4f933381a/screen-shot-2015-01-20-at-11-34-24-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The New Path to College Admission > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b12dafb5-f2d2-4660-a640-361ef003eee3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How a High Schooler Made it to the State of the Union [Watch (HLS stream): How a High Schooler Made it to the State of the Union](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qUSRyg7S.m3u8) (9:57)  _Published 2015-01-20. This week, Michelle Obama was joined by a handful of people to watch the President’s State of the Union address in person. In 2013, Estiven Rodriguez was one of them. Follow the high-school senior's journey to the State of the Union_ by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Jan 21, 2015 12:00 PM UTC by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Jan 21, 2015 12:00 PM UTC On Tuesday night, Michelle Obama was joined by a handful of people to watch the President’s State of the Union address in person. From astronaut [Scott Kelly](http://time.com/meet-the-twins-unlocking-the-secrets-of-space/) to Alan Gross, the foreign aid worker who was recently released after five years of imprisonment in Cuba, each of the White House’s guests personifies a story the President would like to tell about America. In 2014, Estiven Rodriguez was the author of one of those stories. Then a high-school senior from New York City, Rodriguez was recognized by Obama in the State of the Union address for arriving in United States, the son of a Dominican factory worker, unable to speak a word of English and going on to become a first-generation college student. “Imagine not being able to speak up for yourself, communicate and truly make the right choices,” Rodriguez wrote in an essay that helped him earn a spot at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. “I was that middle-schooler who easily could have fallen into the wrong path.” In the video above, TIME followed Rodriguez on his journey to the State of the Union. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] It's not enough to train today's workforce, we also have to prepare tomorrow's workforce. By guaranteeing every child access to world- class education. [ APPLAUSE ] When you're 9- years- old and you come to into a school with a different culture, different people, you feel like you don't belong. [ MUSIC ] Steven and his family arrived in this country when he was in fourth grade. I think my parents moved here so that we could become professionals, have better educational. [ FOREIGN ] At the beginning though, there were points that I, that I thought I wasn't gonna make it. Mostly, because of the language. Sixth grade teacher of his remembers him coming in and was like reading the Berenstain Bears and struggling to read that. I feel like I can't understand, I'm not as capable as the other students. [ FOREIGN ]. [ FOREIGN ] I didn't have that dedication and motivation without my parents sacrifice. And as soon as we came here and I saw their struggle and I saw how hard they were working for my opportunities. If I didn't succeed there. Then was their sacrifice in vain? That's when I realized I had to work the same or even harder for my own opportunities. [ MUSIC ] 90 % of our alums are first- generation college students. One of our biggest challenges is to make sure that our kids and our families view themselves as worthy of the opportunity. I talked to my parents, and then we, we went to the school. We talked to the counselor, we talked to the principal. They, they, they had a teacher for me so that I could understand what, what was going on in the class. And when do I multiply my exponents? blueengine is an education non- profit organization with whom we're partnered. And our school actually was the first ever partner. Now I think about three pages left. At the base of it, blueengine's a people engine. We mobilize a new generation of college students. [ INAUDIBLE ] To enter the education field through a different way. A really unique path. Blue Engine provides our school with a small core of Blue Engine Teaching Assistants. We call them BETAs. So, a [ INAUDIBLE ] would do direct instruction. And then they would break down the class into, each BETA would have, let's say, four to six students. And they would personalize the instruction for those. Students. Essentially, what it allows us to do is to really ensure that we know all of our kids' strengths and needs, really well. Using that leverage of a relationship with those individual students has the opportunity to really change the students' motivation and engagement with the material. The goal, really, overall, is to make sure that dramatically greater numbers of students aren't just eligible for college, but truly ready. With all that support, I wouldn't be able to, to perform in a classroom. It kind of just established my whole work through all three years of high school. [ MUSIC ] Steven's just an incredible student. People have just been floored by how intense and how inspiring his path has been. And so we got a phone call. And then the unthinkable happened. The first time I went down to the, to the White House, I went for the [ INAUDIBLE ] [ MUSIC ] The first group of students to work with those teaching assistants are seniors now. One of them, Stephen Rodriguez He mentions me and it almost feels like the whole room, and like everybody was just watching. [ INAUDIBLE ]. Today, with the support of a tightly knit school community. Let's go, CJ, let's go! He's one of the top students in his senior class at Washington Heights, Expeditionary Learning schools, or WHELs. [ APPLAUSE ] It was remarkable to hear the President talk about one of my students who was sitting next to me, in our school, in our [ INAUDIBLE ]. An organization. As soon as he's done with the speech, he kinda just calls Secret Service and he tells them go get that student. And they call me, and just put me into this room, and I get to meet him. Fast forward a couple weeks later, the Friday night before the state of the union address, I got a call that said that president speech writers were working on his state of the union address, and they were thinking of. Including a piece on a Steven Rodriguez. Look at me. I don't think it's real until you get there. Steven's older brother, myself, and he went down to Washington DC the day before the State of the Union. Right now, we just arro, arrived at Washington. Washington D. C. right in the station. We're about to check to the hotel, to the hotel and then later we're gonna be at the White House. We attended a reception that Michelle Obama had. First I get it meet Michelle Obama at the White House. She was really nice. Actually, the first thing she told me was, aren't you sick of us yet? And I was like no, no, no. I'll, I'll never get sick of you guys. [ MUSIC ] What do you think? From there, we're taken on like this secret, private van. They close all the streets to like, Capital Hill and we get there and I'm sitting two seats away from Michelle Obama. And, imagine when she walks in the room. It's, it's like the whole room stops. When he walks in the room, the feeling is even greater. [ APPLAUSE ]. [ MUSIC ]. Steven Rodriguez couldn't speak a word of English when he moved to New York City at age nine. The last month, thanks to the support of great teachers- And an innovative tutoring program. He led a march of his classmates through a crowd of cheering parents and neighbors, from their high school to the post office where they mailed off their college applications. And this son of a factory worker just found out he's going to college this fall. [ APPLAUSE ]. Speaker: [ MUSIC ] It was surreal to see him there. [ INAUDIBLE ] Speaker: It was, it was breathtaking for me [ INAUDIBLE ] because, from where we came. [ LAUGH ] Especially here in this neighborhood, and I grew up with him. It was amazing to see that at least one of us got to that point . >> I felt like I work really hard in, in high school and not many people paid attention but when he said it. It almost felt like a lot more people were looking at how hard I was working. Imagine not being able to speak up for yourself. Communicate and truly make the right choices. I was that middle school. We easily could have fallen into the wrong paths. I think seeing Steven there is a reflection of, okay, so I'm coming from this community, the Wheels community, you know, Latino community, the Washington Heights community. I can see myself now there, because I've seen someone who looks like me do this. Steven Rodriquez. [ FOREIGN ]. [ FOREIGN ] To the nine year old version of myself I would say to work hard and have dedication to succeed. I think educations important but the support group that you have and the people around you is probably more important. Reaching high goals maybe against odds. Working really hard, leveraging, and opportunity, this is what our school is built on and Stephen exemplifies all of that. The most inspiring part for our team is that Stephens not the only one. There is quietly every single day young people in schools like Wheels and across our networks. The power of the American dream is very much alive [ MUSIC ] What I have accomplished is what my parents have provided. I found this voice, but through college and beyond, it will be further developed to show the leader I wanna become, and the role model I will be to my community. 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