Filling in the gaps

CDI Scholar alumna Kathy with her parents

CDI Scholars are exceptional leaders who overcome serious challenges and change the trajectory of their lives and the lives of their families for future generations.

CDI Scholar alumna Kathy’s parents each had a third-grade education from El Salvador and did not know anything about the college-going process. As a result, Kathy particularly appreciated CDI’s family-centered approach, including a home visit that brought her parents directly into her college planning.

Thanks to CDI’s “high-touch” model, Kathy’s mother felt she too contributed to the achievement of her daughter’s dream. 

“My mother saw someone else filling in the gaps that she couldn’t, but she still felt involved, really respected and appreciated in the way that they were all working together to take care of her child,” she said.  

After completing her freshman year at the University of Maryland with a 1.83 GPA,  Kathy worked through her transition-to-college issues with her CDI counselor and became far more engaged in her academic success and in campus life. 

Kathy entered Army ROTC and excelled in a number of its leadership programs, eventually becoming responsible for managing all of the Army ROTC cadets on campus as their cadet commander. 

She interned at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and at the Governor of Maryland’s Office of Community Initiatives. Kathy made extraordinary improvements academically, rising to be selected as a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, a distinguished honor that resulted in her name being inscribed on a university fountain dedicated to recognize outstanding campus leaders. 

Kathy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and as a Distinguished Military Graduate, a designation signifying that she ranked nationally among the top 20% of ROTC seniors in 2017! Kathy, now serving as a second lieutenant in the Army, is training to serve our nation in military intelligence. 

Kathy credits CDI with helping her stay focused and completing college, writing recommendation letters for her leadership opportunities, and providing a supportive peer network of other CDI Scholars on campus. “CDI helps by having the right people invest in you,” she said.