12:00pm - 5:00pm There’s always more to discover!
On Wednesday, June 19, Boosted Diplomas, a local nonprofit organization, hosted a special party at The Discovery to honor their graduating seniors. Students were joined by their guardians, foster parents, adoptive parents, and Boosted Diploma Educational Advocates, to celebrate their achievements, while enjoying some fun at the museum.
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Cooper Richardson, expresses his excitement over the program’s success, “We’re thrilled that eight students graduated with their diplomas in-hand, one is on track to finish classes and graduate this summer, and one will soon get their HiSET equivalency diploma. That’s 10 out of 12 seniors achieving success!”
Boosted Diplomas was founded in 2019 by Cooper Richardson and Taylor Gurnea to provide supplemental tutoring services to at-risk students and foster youth within Northern Nevada. Many foster children face significant challenges in maintaining their education due to past trauma and frequent school changes, resulting in high dropout rates. Boosted Diplomas advocates for these students by providing educational support from elementary through college, to ensure every at-risk child is on a successful path to graduation.
In the 2023-24 school year alone, 120 youths received support from Boosted Diplomas programs, including educational advocacy, tutoring services, and college and career coaching. And 53% of the youth paired with an Educational Advocate improved their grades by two letter grades or more. Cooper emphasizes that these accomplishments are a team effort, “We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated staff and the amazing students who have worked so hard to reach this milestone. Your commitment and perseverance are truly inspiring.”
The Discovery is happy to work alongside amazing organizations like Boosted Diplomas to better our community. We encourage you to visit their website at boosteddiplomas.org to learn more about their programs or to become a tutor.
Congratulations to the senior graduates of 2023-2024 who participated in the Boosted Diplomas program. The entire staff at The Discovery is proud of you!