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Students at HISD’s Westbury High School are helping their peers to get —and stay — on the road to higher education, thanks to a new public awareness campaign the campus launched on Jan. 14.

The campaign, called “First One, Reach Higher,” is designed to boost students’ readiness for college, particularly those who are at-risk, first generation students of color.

“Most first-generation students have fears about going to college and often face more challenges than their peers,” explained At-Risk Program Administrator Craig Zeno, who spearheaded the campaign. “But the bottom line is that if you want to go to college, there’s a school out there for you. It’s never too early to start thinking about your college goals and dreams.”

Zeno and his students created a public-service-announcement-style video to kick off the campaign. It contains helpful tips for all students in grades 9 through 12, such as taking honors classes and joining clubs for freshmen to seeking letters of recommendation and narrowing their college choices for seniors.