TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Sunnyside High School leads the way in the number of students accepted into the University of Arizona.
"I am definitely going. I am going with pride in my heart,” said senior Claire Ter Bush.
Ter Bush is just one of the 193 Sunnyside High School students and counting who has applied and been accepted to UA.
"I just feel amazing about it. I'm very proud of myself and everyone else.”
During her time at UA, she plans on joining the Pride of Arizona marching band and pursuing a degree in the medical field.
Ter Bush said, “I got accepted into the College of Medicine. So I'm going to be doing something along the lines of orthopedics, because I want to become an orthopedic surgeon”
The university and Sunnyside High School have a partnership with the goal of having more students apply and get accepted into the university.
“The partnership is emblematic of the shared goals and purpose of both the university and the district and ensuring that we're providing equitable access to local low income students of color to find opportunities to go to college,” said Sunnyside High School Alum Karina Salazer.
The school’s principal Stephanie Ponce said the high school saw a need for changes.
Ponce said, “I think our partnership with the U of A was a game changer here at Sunnyside. It was something that our district administration noticed that our four year college students were less and less."
Salazar, who earned her Ph.D. from UA, works to help students whose shoes she once found herself in.
“A factor of racial and socioeconomic disparities and who goes to college is that universities don't recruit prospective students in low income communities of color at the same rate or in the same high quality personal ways that they recruit students in affluent, predominantly white communities,” Salazar said.
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Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist. She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
