From El Salvador to an Elite College

Grismery Romero Torres had just one goal since her freshman year: go to college. 

Grismery Romero Torres has been preparing for college since her freshman year at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts. From the start, she utilized multiple resources to put her on the path to college readiness, including the shift_ed SEO Scholars NC program, The Guilford Guarantee and the Questbridge College Prep Scholars Program. Her focus and hard work paid off. She will attend Davidson College on a full scholarship. The selective institution admits around 13 percent of applicants and is often ranked among the top 15 national liberal arts colleges. Romero Torres says the support she received throughout her time with GCS helped make this possible. 

“As a student who has been part of the GCS community since first grade, I’ll forever cherish the warmth and support that it’s provided for me these past 11 years, she says. “From the early mornings at Oak Hill Elementary to the late after-school rehearsals at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts, I’ve learned multiple life lessons that I’ll carry to college and beyond.” 

Relentless Drive and Discipline 

Romero Torres has been strategic about her education since middle school. She chose Penn-Griffin because of its reputation as a good school with a supportive environment. She had always enjoyed dancing as a youngster, and it became her area of focus at the arts magnet, especially contemporary dance.

As a participant in the shift_ed SEO Scholars NC program, Romero Torres has attended Saturday Academy from 8:45 a.m.-2:15 p.m., every Saturday since she was a freshman. SEO Scholars is a free eight-year program that supports students from ninth grade through their college graduation. As an SEO scholar, Romero Torres engaged in rigorous academic coursework and standardized test preparation, received personalized academic and college guidance and visited college campuses. But she did more than just show up on Saturdays. Her advisors say she was always the first student to arrive. 

MaKayla Leak, Director of College Access and Admissions for shift_ed, says Romero Torres fully immersed herself in the experience from the beginning. 

“She put in the hard work and followed our guidance, building an outstanding academic profile while also becoming a leader in her high school and broader community,” Leak says.  

Although naturally shy, SEO Scholars encouraged her to step outside her comfort zone so that she could emerge as a leader. She served on the Service

Learning Youth Council, which includes students from other GCS schools and a Youth Leadership Academy, an initiative of the High Point Police Department and High Point University. She also got involved with student government at Penn-Griffin.  

Academically, Romero Torres engaged in both synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities. She completed college-level courses through The Guilford Guarantee program, which provides students with the opportunity to earn 12 hours of college credit (about one semester), a career credential or work-based learning experiences such as an internship or an apprenticeship—at no cost to families.  

Romero Torres took online CTE classes, which allowed her to earn college credits while still in high school. Managing college courses, along with her AP classes, helped ease her anxiety about whether she could meet the academic rigors of college, she says. It also put her in good standing for the QuestBridge College Prep Scholars Program, which helps applicants stand out in college admissions. As a result, she was matched with Davidson College, where she was offered a full scholarship.  

“Grismery is truly one of a kind,” Leak says. “She approaches every challenge with humility and a relentless drive to succeed. Her work ethic and perseverance standout, as she consistently takes full advantage of every opportunity in front of her. That mindset is a big part of why she has been so successful.” 

Romero Torres will be a first-generation college student and says she wouldn’t have known how to reach her goal without help.  

“With the support provided by Guilford Guarantee, as well as my SEO and school advisors, I’ve become more confident in my journey to college and beyond,” she says.  

From El Salvador to Davidson College 

Romero Torres wrote about her struggles and the things that shaped her for her college application essays.  

From the green mountains of Cabañas Ilobasco in El Salvador to the gray streets of High Point, N.C. in the U.S.A., Romero Torres stands to achieve exactly what her parents had hoped for her: an education and the opportunity to achieve her dreams.  

She was 7 years old when she and her mother left El Salvador to join her father in High Point. Romero Torres, who was always a good student, initially struggled in her new country, while learning English. She was self-conscious about being an outsider and ashamed of being an immigrant. When she took pupusas—a Salvadoran dish made of corn flour and a variety of fillings—for lunch, her classmates whispered or made faces when she removed them from her lunchbox. She was frustrated when she mispronounced words and uncertainty and doubt made her self-conscious.  

But her most embarrassing moments of the day were in her father’s loud blue car that he affectionately calls “El Luchador,” or “the fighter.”  

“It was a really old, loud car. And he would give me rides to school and whenever he would drop me off or pick me up, people would always turn their heads and look over at us. When I was much younger, I was definitely ashamed and kind of nervous whenever he would drop me off,” she says.  

She was so embarrassed that she wouldn’t even wave goodbye to him when he dropped her off. Romero Torres says her perspective changed one day when a classmate commented that he liked the car. When another student also complimented the car, she began to think that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to be different.  

“Now, three years since then, I’m aware that the wandering eyes didn’t criticize me; rather, they were astounded. Astounded by the beautiful, blue car that despite its many years, worked like a charm. Back then, full of shame, I was annoyed by his pride—never understanding what he saw in the car—but now, I can only look back and laugh,” she wrote. 

Her dad was right, she says. It was made to catch people’s attention. And now, she’s inspired by it. 

“With its bright color and loud sound, I now desire to be that blue car. I yearn to have that fighting character, to catch people’s attention as it’s certainly caught mine,” she wrote in her essay. “I want to be the blue car that my dad talks about with so much pride, a father who missed out on seven years of my life, but endured hard times in order to provide for my mother and I. I want to be the loud car that my friends can easily laugh with and have a good time. I want to be the fighting car that my younger brother can proudly look up to, and that despite our 13-year age gap, can always count on.” 

At Davidson, Romero Torres wants to be the blue car that pushes past her limits, faces her insecurities and embraces new experiences.  

“I want to be known for my fighting spirit, determination and passion,” she concludes. “Besides embarrassment is a mindset, and it’s something that I refuse to have, a lesson I learned from the blue, loud car.” 

 

Gradution 2026Read More Senior Stories