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San Diego Mentorship Program Helps Boys Go To College

Graduating seniors who are part of the Blue Heart Foundation at the organization's signing event at the UCSD campus on April 6, 2019.
Courtesy of Blue Heart Foundation
Graduating seniors who are part of the Blue Heart Foundation at the organization's signing event at the UCSD campus on April 6, 2019.

The Blue Heart Foundation celebrated its fourth annual signing day at UC San Diego last Saturday. The event announces which colleges the Blue Heart students decided to attend.

According to its website, the nonprofit focuses on empowering underserved high school students in San Diego County and it aims to help at-risk youth get into college.

Blue Heart founder and CEO Tracy Morris talked about growing up in San Diego and his own need for strong role models.

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"I grew up in southeast San Diego without a strong father figure, and a lot of things that people say is that there is a need for male role models. With that being said, I kinda looked at what I needed as a young person, or as a teenager growing up, to help me focus on my goals, to be able to provide new experiences and just a guideline to what I wanted to do with my life. And I think most importantly, I just wanted someone or somewhere that I could consistently go to, that I knew would be there," said Morris.

Morris and graduating seniors Amir Duke and Kylen Dent sat down with KPBS Evening Edition host Ebone Monet to talk about how Blue Heart made an impact on their lives.

San Diego Mentorship Program Blue Heart Foundation Helps Boys Excel At School