A South Bronx native and Cardinal Hayes High School alum is giving back to his community by helping kids get to college. 

Tyreece Santana graduated from Hayes and attended USC as a Gates Millenium Scholar with a full-ride scholarship given to only 1,000 students around the country each year. 

Today, he helps juniors and seniors in the Bronx get to college, works with them on SATs, college applications and more. 

“I wanna keep pushing and pushing them, like, 'You can do this, you’re totally capable,'” said Santana. 

Santana says he is helping the next generation of young men. “I can talk to them like I’m an older brother. I’ve been here, I know exactly what you’re going through,” said Santana. 

He says many of the Black and brown kids he has worked with don’t have role models who look like them. 

“Not having people around you who are telling you, ‘You can do this.’ Oftentimes as a teenager, it’s hard to find that inner motivation to want to be in school,” said Santana. 

Santana says leaving the Bronx has made him realize how important it is to “give back to the community that raised you.” 

Santana says he will also be returning back to school and plans to study Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University this year. 

He says he is hoping to pave the way for more people of color in STEM.