Santa Ana teen gets into Harvard thanks to help from Nicholas Academic Center

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Aileen Navarette almost did not apply to Harvard, her dream school. The high school senior said the numbers were against her, but last month she received a message that changed her life.

She was accepted into the Ivy League university, but she had no idea how she or her family would be able to pay for four years at the esteemed school.

It was a dream for her and her parents, who had both emigrated from Mexico 20 years ago. Her mother works as a housekeeper and her father is a landscaper.

Her family began to worry about how to pay for her Harvard education, until she found out she was one of 1,000 seniors nationwide to receive the Gates Millennium Scholarship, which will fund her education.

She did not do it alone. Aileen is one of 430 students who attend the Nicholas Academic Center in Santa Ana.

"The staff here are amazing as far as reading my personal statements, so they really did make me as competitive of an applicant as I could be," Aileen said.

In addition to mentoring and tutoring services, the nonprofit center helps underserved students apply to college and for scholarships.

It also provides financial support for college visits, supplies and even stipends to help make attending college a reality.

"Our policy is that whatever it is you that need to make your dreams come true and go to college, we're going to make it happen," said Rosa Diaz, chief officer of operations and programs at the center.

All 124 seniors attending the center this year are going to college, and 77 percent of them are attending a four-year institution.