The Valedictorian Project: The path to college graduation

Among the thousands of college students earning diplomas this spring are members of the first cohort from The Valedictorian Project.

The nonprofit mentoring program was set up after an investigation by the Boston Globe found that one quarter of the valedictorians from Boston Public Schools between 2005 and 2007 failed to graduate from college.

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For the past two years, NBC10 Boston has been tracking the progress of two students in the program. One of them, Wilsi Taveras, just became the first in her family to graduate from college.

Last year NBC10 Boston met with two students working with The Valedictorian Project, a nonprofit that aims to mentor high-achieving high schoolers as they navigate their futures. Now we're checking back in.

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"I'm very proud of the person that I've become over the last four years and to be where I am today," Taveras said.

TVP is working to address the obstacles many valedictorians have faced with a double mentorship program. Top students are paired with a mentor close in age, along with a senior mentor with job experience.

Taveras has a job with Boston University, now her alma mater, and plans to be a TVP mentor herself next year.