Meet Julia

This month, we are highlighting 17-year-old Julia Balkaran, who has been involved with ICA for the past three years as both a volunteer and a student in our tutoring and SAT prep programs. 

Julia initially learned about ICA from a family friend. She attributes ICA with helping her connecting to her heritage, stating: "I have gained a better view on my cultural background and encouragement to keep pushing for my goals in life. I feel more connected with my community." Julia also credits our programs with helping with her academics. She said, "I am a better student because [ICA] showed me different ways to open my mind to learning. I read more, I actually study, and I retain information and can understand things at a difficult level."

Julia said she feels hopeful for what's to come because of what she has learned at ICA. "ICA has helped me set up goals for the future because they showed me I am not limited to all these other opportunities. I am able to believe in myself more and outline how I want to accomplish everything in a certain time frame." We wish Julia the very best as she starts her first year at John Jay College of Criminal Justice!

If you are interested in supporting students like Julia through our ICA programs, consider coming to our Gala 2016!