Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and High School Principals:

Steps to College 2024 Event and Scholarship Opportunity

On behalf of the California Department of Education (CDE) and the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, we are pleased to invite you, your students, and their families to the Thirteenth Edition of Steps to College (STC), the largest bilingual and binational University Fair in Northern California. We are excited to share with you that this great event will take place on Saturday, February 3, 2024, at the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, 2093 Arena Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95834.

This University Fair is a unique and educational project with a 12-year history that is annually organized by the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento; the CDE; the California Student Aid Commission; the University of California, California State University, and California Community College systems; the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities; Mexican Universities; the Cien Amigos group; and the Mexican Cultural Center of Northern California.

STC has helped more than 15,000 Northern California students to learn how to access financial aid that California offers to anyone who wants to continue studying. Through specialized workshops, not just students but also their families have been oriented on how to apply to universities and to access diverse resources. Additionally, students have benefited from personalized support from counselors and advisors as well as legal, immigration, and health experts.

Our goal is to reach districts located in rural areas and encourage greater participation from their students, many of them “dreamers” of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. We invite and encourage you to share this information with your students.

In the meantime, please visit the STC web site at https://stepstocollegesac.org/ for the latest information. We hope you find this information both helpful and inspiring.

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact María Esther Bolio, Consul for Community and Cultural Affairs, at mbolio@sre.gob.mx; Juan Carlos Ruiz at culturalessac@sre.gob.mx; or Mayda Arce at imesac@sre.gob.mx.

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
California Department of Education

Christian Tonatiuh González
Consul General of Mexico–Sacramento