For years, Maia Abonce has watched her parents work relentlessly to give her (and her four sisters) the opportunities they never had.
Her mom loved her work as a nurse in Mexico, but left her career behind when the family moved to Park City 18 years ago. Now, Maia dreams of picking up where her mother left off: she wants to become a nurse, and one day, a nurse practitioner.
“I’m so inspired by my mom. I’ve wanted to work in medicine since kindergarten,” Maia said. “I want to be in pediatrics or neonatal; it would be nice to be able to help babies and children and their families in times of need.”
Maia, a senior at Park City High School and a Bright Futures/Dream Big student, has already applied to several schools, with more applications in the works. They include her top choice, Washington State, where she hopes to study nursing.
“They have a really good nursing program, which is why I applied there. It all depends on what scholarships I earn, and whether I’ll be able to go out of state.”
BRIGHT FUTURES: A FAMILY AFFAIR
For Maia, the third of five sisters, her goals fold into a bigger family legacy.
Her older sisters, Isabella (PCHS 2025) and Naomi (PCHS 2023), are paving the way, too. Isabella is studying business at the University of Utah, and Naomi is thriving at Utah State University, majoring in biomedical engineering.
“My parents love it. They always tell us to put our education first, so I try really hard and do my best so I can get into college. Both to make them proud, and to show them that their hard work to take care of us matters so much.”
The three oldest Abonce sisters are already making history as the first generation in their family to attend college - with more to come. If they have anything to do with it, their two younger siblings will also join Bright Futures and follow in their footsteps.
“My older sisters and I say, ‘we are going through it, you have to do it, too!’ I do say that even the idea of leaving can be difficult, plus all the work to get ready and figure out how to apply, but I want them to experience it. I want them to get to the point that they can come to me first for advice, like I do with my older sisters.”
Even with that advice from older sisters and support from Dream Big, her Bright Futures’ cohort, and BF staff, navigating the complexity of getting to and through college is tough.
“The most meaningful thing about Bright Futures,” Maia said, “is being part of a community where everyone is going through the same thing. It helps so much. It’s another family.”
EXPANSION IMPACT
At the start of this school year, Park City Education Foundation funded a Bright Futures Counselor, a new, full-time position at the high school. Pepper Elliot’s position integrates BF into PCHS’ top-notch college and career program and also stewards the critical expansion of the program. Maia says BF students are already benefiting.
“We used to have quarterly meetings with our counselors. Now we meet every single Friday, and there are different topics, like how to save money for college, how to figure out where to go, and learning about different colleges.”
The attendance at these weekly meetings? It’s been great. Plus, Maia added, any first-gen student has access to schedule one-on-one meetings with Pepper whenever they need to.
‘Other counselors are busy because they have to help so many students, so it’s so much better this year, having one counselor who focuses just on us as first-gen students.”
The expansion means BF students also benefit from increased collaboration with programs like Dream Big. This access to additional resources and experts means even more support as students work toward their post-secondary goals.
“My biggest takeaway from Bright Futures,” Maia said, “will be being able to achieve my dream to earn a college degree as a first-gen student. It helps so much that BF is a community. It’s nice to have people who understand your experience.”
For most Bright Futures students, that experience is filled with incredibly hard work to earn the grades, scholarships, and resources to make it to and through college.
Maia, in the middle of that hard work, plans to finish what her mother started while she commits to seeing her younger sisters through, too. Maia’s success as a future first-generation Abonce sister college graduate will not be the family’s last.
