After attending a predominantly Black high school, Alexis Lytle believes systemic issues have led to college feeling out of reach for so many Black communities. The computer science sophomore said it truly all starts with one person who becomes the blueprint of encouraging Black students to push themselves into spaces and make that the statement that they deserve to be there.
That mission to push for Black excellence and a desire to get Black students in spaces where they may have not been historically accepted is was what drove the partnership between Cal Poly and two predominantly Black high schools: one in Sacramento and Lytle’s, just south of Chicago.
“We continue that cycle and say, ‘Hey, you deserve to be here, let me find you a way to get you there,’” Lytle said. “That’s what my superintendent did. That’s what Margaret Fortune did for the Fortune scholars.”
Seeing how successful mentors can get serve as a motivation for students, Lytle added.
Rex & Margaret Fortune Early College High School and Southland College Prep High School, both in Sacramento and Chicago respectively, were founded with a clear purpose — to create real, tangible pathways to higher education for Black students and to challenge the systems that have historically limited access. It’s part of this purpose that they have decided to partner with Cal Poly to help create opportunities for Black students.
For students from Fortune and Southland, enrolling at Cal Poly is both an achievement and a transition into an unfamiliar territory. The partnership between these institutions was created to expand access for Black students, but the story does not end when students are accepted to Cal Poly.
All of the students interviewed for this story said they still struggle to feel a sense of belongingness at Cal Poly.
In these schools college is not something they prepare for later, but it is embedded in their high school experience from day one.
At Fortune High School, college preparation begins immediately. Through a partnership with their local community college, Cosumnes River College, students enroll in college courses beginning their freshmen year. Southland College Prep follows a similarly rigorous model, with only Honor and AP courses offered, to achieve their mission of preparing all graduates for academic success in college.
“Doing those college classes really did help, because you’re getting acquainted to how rigorous a course is,” said Ajia Walker, a business administration senior who attended Fortune High School. “I came in with junior standing as a freshman, I came in with my [associates degree] in Liberal Arts. It gave me a head start.”
Partnerships with Cal Poly
The structure of the high schools attempt to show every student has the potential to go beyond the expectations, but what they truly need are more opportunities.
Through their partnerships with Cal Poly, Fortune and Southland are able to provide those opportunities. They are able to offer high or full-ride scholarships to high school students who have been accepted in the university and have shown they are ready for higher education.
Even with these opportunities, that does not mean the transition to being in higher education is any easier.
Cal Poly is a historically white institution. According to Cal Poly’s enrollment dashboard, based on Fall 2025 census data, there’s 45.7% white students compared to 0.8% of Black students. For students coming from predominantly Black communities, the shift impacts them in many ways.
Sanaia Pierre, a software engineering senior, came from a predominantly Black area and high school in Chicago, so for her the lack of familiarity was shocking.
“I thought I realized what the Black population was [at Cal Poly],” Pierre said. “Once I got here, that’s when it really hit me,” Pierre said. “When I would walk around my high school or just at home in general, I would see Black people everywhere. When I got here, I didn’t see a lot if Black people at first.”
Similarly, Nyla Griffith, a public health freshman, spoke of how isolating it can be at times. Griffith misses her community she grew up around, especially people who look and have the same background as her. The lack of a similar community at Cal Poly can be isolating at times.
Lytle recalls her freshman year during the presidential election, where somebody came on campus wearing a shirt with derogatory slurs.
“They would wear an afro and these things, they would only talk to Black students and [try] to provoke us. It’s really hard because when your community is already so small and now that’s all you have for support… it’s really discouraging,” Lytle said.
The Black Student Union continues to create outreach programs, according to Lytle. Their goal as a Black student group is to reach out to Black students in high schools across the country.
Communities like this are incredibly important to nurturing and growing the Black community at Cal Poly, students said. These support networks have offered Black students a place where they feel a true sense of belonging, and help them get the resources they may need.
According to Walker, once she started going to Black Student Union events and meeting people who could talk to her about different resources on campus meant to help the Black community, she started getting more comfortable on campus.
Cal Poly’s partnerships and organizations meant to support and uplift Black communities are vital.
“It’s important to continue to have that presence, that Black presence here, and continue to focus on not only us succeeding, but also having Cal Poly change their vision as to what success looks like,” Lytle said. “And I think that we’re making steps in the right direction.”