Shining Examples
Of The Power of Education To Change Lives
Since 2011 Shine Together has helped hundreds of young moms navigate the dual challenges of parenting and academic achievement, providing a solid foundation for their future.
This graduation season, we’re honoring two of these extraordinary young mothers. Here are their Shining Success Stories…
Shine Together is privileged to support the incredible potential of young mothers as they build better lives for themselves and their families. We are dedicated to standing with them every step of the way.
In celebrating the resilience, hope and achievement reflected in this year’s graduation events, we wanted to share with you the personal journeys of two remarkable women who have participated in Shine Together’s programs this past few years, and to invite you to support Shine in helping write more success stories like theirs.
Donations to Shine help young mothers like Karen Arellano (Stanford University, Class of 2025) and Sofia Jaquez (UC Berkeley, Class of 2025) reach their potential by graduating from high school and pursuing post-secondary education so they can create thriving futures for themselves and their children.
Your generosity will help young mothers like Sofia and Karen pursue their dreams and build brighter futures.
Keep reading to discover their inspirational stories, or download our Graduates & Gratitude 2025 Newsletter to learn more about how your support creates brighter futures for young moms and their children.
Step Up Together, Double Your Impact—Every Dollar Matched!
You can help us reach our 2025 Graduates & Gratitude fundraising goal—twice as fast!
Thanks to the incredible generosity of Shine Together board member Aarti Chandna and the Chandna Foundation, every dollar you donate will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000.
Karen and Sofia’s stories are two of many. Every day, your contributions help uplift young mothers who are boldly rewriting their futures—and shaping a stronger tomorrow for the next generation.
A Story of Resilience and Perseverance: Karen Arellano
The daughter of immigrant farm workers, Karen’s journey began in a small rural town. After being accepted to Stanford University while discovering she was pregnant, Karen faced a pivotal moment. Shine Together provided her with the support, guidance, and resources to continue her education and embrace motherhood.
Since starting her educational journey, Karen has thrived as a student and mother, focused determinedly on her goal of pursuing a career in education and helping other young moms realize their ambitions.
Karen Arellano, the daughter of immigrant farm workers from Mattawa, Washington, transformed her life the day she received her Stanford acceptance letter while working in the fields. Shortly after, she learned she was pregnant—a daunting revelation that only deepened her resolve to pursue both motherhood and education.
Karen’s journey underscores a vital question: How can our community better support young mothers in their educational and personal journeys? “We can foster spaces where we build our own support networks—our ‘villages,’” she emphasizes. “When I started out, I needed not only resources but also people who understood my journey. We need more scholarship funds specifically for young mothers aspiring to higher education, ensuring that finances aren’t an added barrier.”
Now having graduated from Stanford in the Spring of 2025, Karen’s experiences have fueled her desire to address educational inequalities, especially for young mothers with limited resources. “Education is about service,” she believes, “and I intend to use mine to give back to my community.”
Her honors thesis explores how we can build better systems to uplift, organize, and empower young mothers in post-secondary education, advocating for scholarships and resources that create pathways to higher education.
This graduation season, as we celebrate resilience and hope, we invite you to support Shine Together. Your generosity will help young mothers like Karen pursue their dreams and build brighter futures.
Reflecting on the impact of Shine Together’s support, Karen shares:
“When I first came to California with my son, there were days I couldn’t afford diapers or meals—days I wondered if we would make it. Because of you, donors, I’ve been able to dream again. Your support didn’t just change my life; it created a future. I encourage you to continue this support, helping more young mothers realize their dreams.”
Shine Together Bay Area: Karen Arellano’s Journey—In Her Own Words
The same day I was accepted to Stanford, I found out I was pregnant. I sat in my car outside the clinic, and despite how overwhelmed I felt, I pressed “submit” on my enrollment forms. I knew I wanted to move forward—with school and with motherhood.
When I got to Stanford, the challenges hit hard. I had no backup childcare, no one to give me a five-minute break, and I was exhausted. Nothing will ever compare to that first year—navigating Stanford while pregnant, one of the most vulnerable phases of motherhood. You can only imagine what that felt like.
And yet, my time at Stanford turned out to be one of the most beautiful chapters of my life. I’ll never forget buckling my son into his bike trailer and heading off to class. Or bringing him to the dining hall, where classmates would hold him. Sometimes my professors would hold him during class or at events. Those are the moments I looked forward to.
It was never just about academics, though I loved my classes. It was about extending every opportunity to my son.
Being a mother taught me to slow down and appreciate the simple things. It helped me live in the moment and find joy beyond academic success. Graduating from Stanford with my son by my side means I’m one step closer to breaking the cycle of generational poverty. This moment makes the late-night study sessions—and the 3 a.m. mornings picking cherries with my mom—worth it.
This spring, I’m graduating with honors. I’ve received the John Gardner Public Service Fellowship, the Marion Brummell Kenworthy Award for Student Innovation in Public Service, and the Stanford Alumni Association Award of Excellence, which recognizes the top 10% of the graduating class. And still, what I’m most proud of is the community that got me here.
Shine Together gave me hope, helped me survive the hardest moments, and pushed me to flourish. One of the biggest reasons I’m staying in the Bay Area after graduation is because of the connection I’ve found here.
Thank you for seeing me, believing in me, and being part of this journey. Thank you for believing in us. ~ Karen
A Shining Star: Sofia Jaquez
Sofia is a first generation college graduate who struggled to find the help she needed when she first became pregnant. While juggling her role as a single mother of two during her studies— as well as volunteering—she has aimed to be a role model for her daughters and others. Shine Together was a lifeline for her, providing support and resources.
As she has worked towards becoming an attorney to represent her community, she has also been a Shine Ambassador, guiding new moms like she once was. Donations to Shine help young mothers like Sofia achieve their potential and create thriving futures.
During her time studying, Sofia Jaquez was incredibly busy. In addition to being a full-time student and volunteer in the Bay Area community, she was also a single mom raising two daughters. Amid managing motherhood, pursuing her post-secondary education, and navigating her finances, she has always wanted to be a role model to others, including her two daughters. From all that she has achieved so far, Sofia is already an inspiration.
Shine became a lifeline for Sofia when she was pregnant with her first child and did not find strong levels of support elsewhere. Then, through Shine’s programs, including the Teen Success program, Sofia gained an Advocate who steered her toward resources and helped her develop parenting skills, all while making lifelong friendships with like-minded young moms.
Sofia has given back as a Shine Ambassador, sharing what she knows with new moms embarking on motherhood. It’s a tough journey that is more manageable when moms have comprehensive support and knowledge of how to better themselves and their children, and to pursue the next steps.
A first generation student of her family to graduate from college, Sofia has been working toward becoming an attorney, to represent her community. She wants people who look like her and were raised similarly to feel seen and supported.
She’s made great progress toward this goal as a founding member of the Youth Liberation Movement and a board member of Work2future, San Jose Conservation Corps, and a Google funding committee.
Sofia graduated from Mission College in May of 2023, and was accepted to every university to which she applied. She completes the next stage of her remarkable journey in the Spring of 2025 as she graduates from the University of California, Berkeley.
Sofia says about Shine Together’s impact:
“Donating to this program would expand opportunities to other young moms like me. They will be supported with education navigation and resource brokering. Contributions will also help out with financial emergencies as well as providing experiences that most young moms would be unable to afford on their own.”
Shine Together Bay Area: Sofia Jaquez’s Journey—In Her Own Words
Graduating from UC Berkeley has always been one of my biggest dreams—and now it has become one of my biggest accomplishments! Throughout my journey, I’ve expanded my knowledge, met inspiring scholars, and learned so much about myself and the kind of person I want to be in this world.
But it hasn’t been easy. As a single mother, finishing college meant moving from San Jose to Berkeley—leaving behind the only support system I had ever known. I was scared, but I knew that taking this leap was the only way forward. It was just my daughters and me, facing a new city and a new challenge together.
Without evening childcare, I often missed study groups and events. When I truly needed the support, I’d make the long drive back to San Jose to drop my daughters off with family just so I could show up. I constantly felt like I had to work twice as hard to stay on track. There were moments I wanted to give up—when my daughters were sick, when I fell behind, or when I simply couldn’t keep my eyes open after putting them to bed. My exhaustion reached its peak.
But I never stopped fighting. The vision of building a better life for my daughters—of giving them everything I didn’t have—kept me going. No one was going to do it for me, and I knew I couldn’t give up.
From the very beginning, Shine was there for me. Whether I needed diapers, clothes, or encouragement, Shine’s advocates supported me from afar. Being part of this community reminded me I wasn’t alone. Even though I was at a different school, I connected with other young moms who truly understood my experience.
Now that I’ve reached the finish line, this milestone means everything. It’s proof that I can overcome anything I set my mind to. I’ve learned to ask for help, and I know this degree will open doors to my dream career. I am proud of myself for making it, despite the odds. I’m living proof that being a young mother doesn’t mean your dreams are over—it means you have an even greater reason to make them come true.
I hope my story inspires the next generation of teen moms to believe in themselves and to see their children not as obstacles, but as motivation. ~ Sofia
Watch Sofia speak about the impact that Shine Together has had in the lives of our participants in our video thanking MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Foundation for donating $2 million to Shine Together in 2024.
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