When Melissa De Almeida learned about the Red Hawks Rising program during her senior year of high school, she jumped at the opportunity to become a part of it. To her, this was her way to begin her dream career of teaching.

“I was with my guidance counselor every day trying to figure [the application process] out,” De Almeida said. “I was missing class to figure this out [because] I felt that it was so important that I got it done as soon as possible.”