CORAL GABLES, Fla. (July 24, 2014)—For six weeks, ninth graders participating in Breakthrough Miami College Bound on the Gables campus attended classes and listened to program organizers and instructors tout the benefits of higher education. But last Wednesday the students got a shining example of what a college degree can help one accomplish when Sergio M. Gonzalez, the University of Miami’s senior vice president for University Advancement and External Affairs, spoke to them at the Whitten Learning Center. A Breakthrough Miami board member who holds both an undergraduate and law degree, Gonzalez discussed the importance of a college education. He also told parents of the students how much he is inspired by their children.

Breakthrough Miami College Bound is an academic enrichment program that encourages students from underserved communities to graduate from high school and attend college, exposing them to coursework in a university setting. UM’s School of Education and Human Development is a partner in the initiative.