Photo: Christina House

The 259 seniors in the Downtown Magnets High School's class of 2022 don’t take college for granted. They are the children of low-wage cooks and waitresses, parking valets and factory workers, caretakers and security guards. Their parents are mostly immigrants. 

They also represent the new generation of students reshaping the face of higher education in California: young people with lower family incomes, less parental education, and far more racial and ethnic diversity than college applicants of the past.

Photo: Laura Pappano

The march to college is getting pandemic-adjusted. More students are taking gap years. Others are working more hours at jobs, earning money that remains critical to families.

The situation is making counselors reconsider how to help students evaluate many different paths and opportunities beyond high school.

Photo: Meredith Nierman

Anne Laurie Pierre's senior year in high school wasn't easy. The recent graduate battled the mental exhaustion of remote learning, working extra shifts to help her family make ends meet, and the death of her father.

Pierre persevered to become the first in her family to go to college after being accepted to Howard University. Read more about Pierre and others who pushed through hardship on their paths forward in this photo essay.