11th Annual Gala Recap

UPDATE: Get tickets to our 12th Annual Gala on April 23, 2018, here.

Nearly one million dollars raised to help students from low-income circumstances get their college degree

As the sun set on the Hudson River, supporters, participants, board and staff members took their seats at The Lighthouse in New York City’s Chelsea Piers for Let’s Get Ready’s 11th Annual Gala. The event raised a substantial sum for the organization in order to support its mission of helping students from low-income circumstances, as well as those who are the first in their families to attend college, enroll in and graduate from college by providing near-peer mentoring. The evening was both a meaningful and light-hearted affair, with students and volunteers taking the podium alongside high profile honorees and board members.

Lynda Baquero, a reporter and anchor for NBC, served as the master of ceremonies. She introduced Gary Matthews, the Chair of the Board of Directors, who expounded on some of the program’s strongest data points, explaining that for organizations of its kind, Let’s Get Ready is a top performer in terms of the number of students achieving their college goals as well cost-efficiency. He then introduced Kathrine Mott, who joined Let’s Get Ready as CEO in January.

Mott added some perspective to the Let’s Get Ready’s work, pointing out that secondary education is vital to economic mobility. “75% of our students are the first in their families to go to college,” she said, “and 100% of our students raise their hand to do extra work to get there.” She thanked volunteers, donors, staff, and board members for ensuring the program’s efficacy. She noted that sending a student through the admissions and graduation process with Let’s Get Ready costs only $1,000.

Mott introduced a video produced by Ogilvy & Mather which featured the story of Cinthia Ibarra, who went through Let’s Get Ready as a high school student and gained admission to the University of Pennsylvania.

When the video ended, Ibarra ascended to the stage with Dean Trusty and Richard Jimenez, both alumni of Let’s Get Ready’s College Access program. Trusty, a native of the Bronx, told the story of how his college counsellor informed him of the program’s free SAT preparation classes. “I thought, what better way to spend a summer?” he said, resulting in a wave of laugher from the audience. The laughter turned into thunderous applause as Trusty, who will be the first in his family to attend a four-year college, announced that he will be attending SUNY Farmingdale.

Ibarra spoke next, detailing how Let’s Get Ready’s College Success program supported her after she enrolled at Penn. She recalled how the program provided financial aid application assistance and mock admissions interviews, and how attending a Career Day event helped her secure a law firm internship. “That resume building workshop really paid off!” she said with a smile. She explained her decision to contribute to the program as a math Coach, an experience she called “extremely rewarding.” She described the mentoring process as a two-way street. “Both the mentor and the mentee have notable lessons to learn from each other.”

Richard Jimenez, who graduated from Brown University in 2014, took the podium, recalling his first encounters with Let’s Get Ready in 2009 as a “zit-faced” teen “still rocking braces.” Jimenez worked as a site director at five locations. “Let’s Get Ready gave me a platform to not only give back in the same way I’ve been assisted, but also develop into the tenacious professional I am today,” he told the crowd. “In my current role I assist indigent defendants, faced with bail as low as $250, so they don’t have to sit in a place like Riker’s [Island jail] awaiting trial.”

The next component of the program was the presentation of the Transforming Lives Award to Ross Love, a Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group and Managing Director of BCG’s New York office. After an introduction by Let’s Get Ready Board Member Laurent Desmangles, also a Senior Partner and Managing Director at BCG, Love gave a speech that extolled the work of Let’s Get Ready, and described civic contributions as a facet of success. “When we [BCG] get involved with organizations like Let’s Get Ready, we know we are making a positive impact on the world.”

Next, NYU Vice President for Enrollment Management MJ Knoll took the stage to introduce honoree, G. Gabrielle Starr, Dean of the College of Arts and Science at New York University and Incoming President of Pomona College. She will be the first woman and African American to hold that office.

Addressing the crowd, Starr affirmed the importance of diversity in higher education. She cited a study by the University of Michigan’s Scott Page, saying, “Bringing more and different voices around the table makes for better, stronger, and more creative ideas and solutions. Diversity yields new knowledge.” She called Let’s Get Ready students “extraordinary”, saying, “They grow and change their lives, and the lives of their communities, and they will transform the world.”

In total, the 11th Annual Gala raised nearly a million dollars, providing even more underserved students with the opportunity to get into and graduate from college.

Let’s Get Ready would Like to thank the following individuals and organizations for making our 11th Annual Gala a success: