Stories & News
News from BASIC and stories from the students and families we work with.
Scholar Stories
Ten Summers, One Teacher
Tania Fuerte's first memory of BASIC is the phone call telling her she had won a scholarship. Two degrees later she has taught every summer of the Learning Academy since it began. In 2026 that made ten.
Scholar Stories
From Borrego Springs to Sonography
Daniela Carmona is six terms into the road to diagnostic medical sonography. Her hometown is still traveling with her.
Scholar Stories
From Desert Mountains to UCLA
When Jimena Ochoa got into her dream campus, the price tag nearly closed the door. A hometown scholarship kept it open.
Scholar Stories
The First Engineer in the Family
Lorenzo Vilches started with a certificate in automotive repair and finished with an engineering degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He is the first in his family to graduate from a university, and its first engineer. He now works in aerospace.
Scholar Stories
“This Is Only the Beginning”
Briem Cole grew up watching his father and grandfather run construction equipment. Six years after arriving from Jamaica, and after what he calls a few setbacks, he is a certified heavy equipment operator.
Scholar Stories
Before He Could Talk, He Had a Library
A book arrived in the mail with Dylan Garcia's name on it every month from infancy until he turned five. His mother says it gave him a love of books before he could talk. At seven, he reads for the pleasure of it.
Scholar Stories
Bengy Takes His Turn
By his fifth birthday Benjamin Salazar had been through three BASIC programs: two years of books in the mail, three sessions of family literacy, and the first season of TK Academy. In October 2025 he was named Graduate of the Month.
Program Stories
How Family Literacy Nights Turn Parents Into Their Child’s First Teacher
Ninety percent of a child's brain develops by age five. The Latino Family Literacy Project gives parents the tools, and the company, to use those years well.
Announcements
Meet Angela Cassidy, BASIC’s New President
A 33-year trust officer, a Borrego regular since the early eighties, and a firm believer that we thrive when we all thrive.
In the News
Twenty-Eight Years of Scholarships, and an All-Time High
Forty-nine Borregans, $93,150, and three new named scholarships. The numbers behind BASIC's 28th year of sending students to school.
