How A College Guidance Program Became a Post-Wildfire Lifeline

With nearly 1,400 of its students affected by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Pasadena's College Access Plan, like many California Community Foundation grantees, became a relief and recovery organization overnight.

ALTADENA, Calif., June 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Like so many others, Alejandra Surias saw her world turn upside down on Jan. 7. As fast-moving flames tore through Eaton Canyon in one of the state's most destructive wildfires ever, the Pasadena High School senior fled her home with her family in the dead of night. Thick smoke clogged the air, hampering her vision and breathing. Howling winds tore down tree branches and rocked her family's car as they sped away. 

When she returned to survey the damage, Alejandra began to cry. The Altadena apartment building she had lived in her entire life was unlivable, with the windows blown out and ash everywhere. She had to toss out some of her clothes, potentially now tainted with toxic smoke. Schools had shut down, disrupting her daily routine. Her mother and father were shell-shocked as they searched for a place to live with their two children and two dogs, moving from a relative's house to a hotel to a motel. 

Two weeks later, Alejandra's phone rang. It was Karla Ramos, a program coordinator with College Access Plan (CAP), a Pasadena-based nonprofit that provides no-cost services to help underserved students beginning in fifth grade prepare for college. Alejandra, who has worked with Ramos for two years, was filled with relief to hear the familiar voice. What do you need? How can I help? Ramos asked her.

In those devastating days after the fire, Ramos and CAP staff would go well beyond their role as college planning specialists helping students explore careers, review transcripts, research campuses and assist with applications and financial aid. They provided a vital lifeline of financial, emotional and mental support to Alejandra and hundreds of other students whose lives were upended by the Eaton Fire.

The program connected Alejandra's family with several resources, including grocery gift cards from the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation and other donors and a suitcase filled with a tablet, air purifier, face masks and candy – along with $10,000 – from Letters Charity, a Chicago nonprofit. The funding, which Alejandra said moved her mother to tears, helped the family secure a new apartment in Arcadia.

Ramos also helped Alejandra prepare for an experience of a lifetime: the Grammy Awards. Fifteen program students were invited to attend; Macy's in Pasadena brought them into the department store to choose outfits, shoes and accessories – all on the house. Alejandra, wearing a silky pink dress, got to see her idol, Billie Eilish.

"I was so grateful because I was so depressed about everything that happened and this was just something fun to distract me," Alejandra said, "It was such a great time."

The California Community Foundation has supported College Access Plan with grants totaling $425,000 since 2022. Like CAP, many other CCF grantees have also had to make wildfire recovery a top priority since January.

Ca'Leah King, a parent, said the program has been a godsend to her and her son, Evan Wade. Evan began the program in sixth grade at Wilson Middle School, stayed with it through graduation from Pasadena High School and is still connected as a member of I Heart College, which supports CAP alumni through their college journey. Evan now attends UC Berkeley.

King said the wildfires forced them to flee their Altadena apartment and scramble from "hotel to hotel, Airbnb to Airbnb." But relief that the building escaped destruction turned to dismay when she learned she had to toss out everything – her clothes, furniture, electronics – and wait months before she could return.

 A CAP staff member, Wendy Duran, has checked in regularly with King and her son, connecting them with grocery gift cards, a $1,000 donation and apartment listings. She also offers a sympathetic ear when King calls Duran to say she's had a terrible day.

"They've been there for us – they're like family," King said. "They've definitely supported us emotionally."

Mo Hyman, the program's executive director, said 82% of the 1,700 students the program serves were impacted by the fires. She estimated that at least 100 students lost their homes while the others were displaced either short-term or, like Alejandra's family, on a more long-term basis until their previous housing is restored.

As Pasadena Unified School District sites remained shuttered for weeks, Hyman and her staff switched into overdrive to help school administrators contact students, assess their needs and distribute donations. After connecting with students, they learned that the wildfires had created new challenges with some of their college plans. 

Families who had lost homes, cars, jobs and other sources of security needed to file appeals for more financial aid. Katarine and Matthew Hart, twin siblings who attend John Muir High School, both plan to attend the University of Hawaii this fall – but after the wildfires destroyed their  family's home, the annual $38,000 cost of attendance per student is a bigger stretch to afford. With Ramos' help, they are filing financial aid appeals.

Other students are revising their college choices. Some had planned to attend Pasadena City College, for instance, but have been displaced outside the area so need to rethink whether a longer commute is feasible, Hyman said.

Hyman's biggest concern is the toll the fires have taken on the students' mental and emotional health. Those effects might not yet be readily apparent as students may still be in a grieving stage without having fully grasped the enormity of what they lost, she said. But a 2014 National Institutes of Health study and other research have found that trauma can create a loss of confidence in a positive future and an inability to think ahead, Hyman said.

She worries that some students may experience a delayed reaction to the trauma they suffered and decide over the summer, for instance, to forego college in the fall.

"I'm concerned there will be a trauma cliff," Hyman said. "We're going to see massive trauma impacts in the next several years and those will impact educational choices. This will be a 10-year arc."

College Access Plan board members are shifting strategies to address this challenge. Rather than focus on expansion to other regions, the nonprofit is doubling down on serving their Pasadena and Altadena families as questions loom on how many will stay in the area once the school year ends and what support they will continue to need. Hyman said CAP will invest more in peer counseling grounded in trauma care as they explore other ways they can support the community's disaster recovery efforts. 

In the meantime, they will continue their foremost mission – to help underserved students prepare for college. The effort began in 2006 by Hyman and Kathleen Parent as a way to address the gap in college knowledge and enrollment among Pasadena public school students who are low-income and the first in their families to attend college.

The program initially began at John Muir High School, and now serves students at four elementary schools and all middle and high schools in the Pasadena Unified School District. It also serves students at all four high schools in the Hacienda La Puente School District. Staff members have developed a thick folder of curriculum that includes information about colleges, financial aid, essays, resumes, "brag sheets," careers, majors and transcript reviews.

About 98% of seniors who attend at least three sessions – either visiting the program centers on campus or taking a course on college fundamentals or essay writing – advance to postsecondary education. Four-fifths of them graduate or remain enrolled in college over six years, Hyman said.

Alejandra will join the alumni program as a student at Cypress College studying to become an ultrasound technician. She credits Ramos and other CAP staff for helping her turn around a slow start in high school and gain confidence, leadership skills and entry into a path toward a well-paying career in the health services.

"I love this program so much," she said. "They've been really super duper helpful and have given me so much support."

Media Contact: Gilien Silsby, gsilsby@calfund.org

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SOURCE California Community Foundation