Immigrant Heads to College With Boost From Henry Street
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

No one from Jankaira Vargas’s family had ever gone to college, and although she had pictured herself on a college campus ever since she was little, she wasn’t sure she whether she would either.
Born in the Dominican Republic, the 17-year-old moved to New York two years ago and had barely learned English or how to navigate the subway system before it was time to take the SATs. Her father, a furniture upholsterer in Washington Heights, spoke little English, and didn’t like the idea of her moving away from home.
Besides, neither his salary nor that of her mother, a house cleaner who stayed behind in the Dominican Republic, seemed sufficient to cover the cost of tuition.
Now, Ms. Vargas, along with 41 other needy high school seniors, is on her way to college thanks to the Henry Street Settlement, an organization that acts as part guidance counselor, part surrogate family to teenagers who might not otherwise think beyond high school.
That was the case for many at Ms. Vargas’s school, the Bayard Rustin Educational Complex, a struggling public school in Chelsea. Unlike many at the school, where just more than half of seniors graduated in 2006, Ms. Vargas had nestled into a tight-knit group that cared more about homework than hanging out.
Although her teachers were helpful, Ms. Vargas said her lack of English made it “really hard to interact with them.” So she read books such as “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” to build up her vocabulary.
Then, a friend, Marleny Cabral, told her about Henry Street. She spent her junior year completing a work training program that taught her how to dress for an interview and create a resume. After that, she began college prep courses.
With her SAT practice work, her homework doubled to three or four hours a night. On top of that, she took on jobs as an after-school assistant at an elementary school and helping with a homeless outreach project for Cornell University.
Although her parents rarely asked about her grades, she got an almost weekly call from a mentor at Henry Street to ask about her report card. It was filled with nearly all As. Instead of passing her summers on the beach or partying, she found another youth program that sent her to Italy to add a third language to her repertoire.
This year, Henry Street helped her fill out the school applications and financial aid forms for SUNY New Paltz, a school she had visited on a trip with the organization. She was accepted.
Ms. Vargas said her father has worried about her moving two hours away.
“He really wanted me to stay, but I told him I have to look up,” she said.
Like most college freshmen, she’s nervous about keeping up her grade point average and leaving her family, but unlike some of her peers, having enough money still tops the list of her worries.
A $1,000 grant from Henry Street will help offset some of the costs of books and other expenses her peers may take for granted. Having Ms. Cabral as her roommate will also help.
“I think I’m going to survive over there,” she said.