On December 18, CARA’s Director of College Bridge, Deneysis Labrada, and program alumna, Ivannah Genao, participated in a national webinar hosted by the Education Strategy Group (ESG). Building on ESG’s recent brief, the webinar highlighted CARA’s College Bridge program as a proven model for supporting first-generation college students.

Deneysis and Ivannah served on the panel and led a breakout room on scaling near-peer mentoring, sharing strategies on measuring program impact, peer leader recruitment, and program sustainability. Other panelists included Claudia Martinez from San Diego State University and Beth Collins from Teach for America Appalachia, who shared insights from their experience on piloting mentoring programs and leveraging near-peer connections.

Ivannah’s journey with CARA began as a youth leader in high school, then continued when she returned to her alma mater as a Bridge Coach while in college. Currently, she is working towards a bachelor’s degree in Political Science at NYU and recently joined CARA as an intern, supporting the replication of the College Bridge program in Newark, NJ.

Reflecting on how these experiences have shaped her, she said, “Being a peer mentor showed me the powerful role organizations like CARA play in supporting marginalized communities and creating success pipelines. It inspired me to pursue a law degree to advocate for educational policy because I’ve seen how investing in people from within their communities drives real change.”

The webinar brought together leaders in career pathways, regional intermediaries, and practitioners exploring innovative student support strategies as part of ESG’s Accelerate-Ed program. We’re incredibly proud to have contributed to this meaningful conversation and excited that CARA’s proven near-peer model is making its way to more practitioners, and ultimately transforming the experiences of students nationwide.