Every summer, TIF watches students graduate high school and prepare for the next step in their education. For Jesus, that next step is college. This Take Stock in Children alum is currently a freshman at Florida Gulf Coast University. (In his latest note to us, he wrote, “College is AMAZING! Things are going great for me! I love it!”)

Between graduating from Immokalee High School and beginning his freshman year of college, Jesus spent the summer with his family, who work as migrant farmhands — an occupation and lifestyle common among residents of Immokalee. Each day, Jesus took a minute or two to tell us about his summer experiences.

Sunday, June 14, 2009
8:00 p.m.

Well, it's my lucky day because we didn't have to work today! Man was I happy to have gotten the chance to sleep in! Today I went to Tallahassee, Florida, and it's only about forty minutes away and I went with my mom. We went to buy groceries at Sam’s Club and I was doing some thinking and I really was wishing today that I would have gotten accepted into Florida State University and started in the fall. I had initially planned to attend Florida State back at the beginning of my senior year, but I wasn't accepted and it honestly hurt a bit because that was my first choice. But the way I saw that experience is that like that saying goes: “things happen for a reason” and I'm thinking of transferring from Florida Gulf Coast University to Florida State after my first two years. I just feel that I'd really enjoy Florida State more and have more opportunities to succeed — not that I can't at FGCU, but personally I'd prefer FSU so that looks to be the plan.

Monday, July 15, 2009
12:35 a.m.

Today was a pretty normal day and it rained in the late afternoon so we got to come early. I didn't do much except play some video games and play some more with my MacBook. :) [TIF awarded Jesus and a number of other high-achieving seniors with computers that would aid them in their college pursuits.] It's so cool and I'm still getting the hang of how to use it. I could really use my buddy James right now. He walked me through the basics of the MacBook when I first received it. I'm super excited that Apple is releasing a new iPhone within the next two days. They're also releasing a new firmware update that’s improving the features on the iPhone and it's only going to make it more competitive and especially more difficult for other cell phone companies to catch up. Apple always seems to pull another rabbit out of the hat that pushes them up slightly ahead of the competition. The people behind it all are brilliant and it'll be interesting to see where Apple will be in the next few years with its product line once I'm out of college and applying there. :)

[Note: Though Jesus only recently acquired his first Apple product, he has long been a fan of the company and hopes to work for Apple after graduating from college.]

Tuesday, June 15, 2009
5:33 p.m.

Work. Work. Work. I feel like I'm too young for this type of occupation. LOL. I'm currently in the tomato fields of Bainbridge, Georgia, and I learned something new today. My dad was teaching me how to drive a stick shift and I need so much more practice, but I know the basics...I think. I feel pretty tired and we still have a while until we get home. My summer vacation is always filled with hard, long hours of work and the days go by slowly because I don't accomplish much. At least that’s how I feel about it. I don't think that next summer I'll be coming up north with my family. I'm looking at signing up for summer classes and I'd really enjoy doing study abroad so I'm going to look into that too.

Wednesday, June 16, 2009
11:37 p.m.

Whew! Today’s weather conditions really put my body to its physical limits. The heat index for today was 104 degrees Fahrenheit! And it's only supposed to feel hotter for the rest of the week...I wish I could carry a little AC unit with me. I feel so tired right now and don't understand how I'm even writing this, but tomorrow is going to be another hot day and I'm planning on wearing shorts instead of pants and I need a light-colored shirt instead of dark colors that attract sunlight.

Thursday, June 17, 2009
10:23 p.m.

Tonight I got off a bit earlier and I'm going to get to know my MacBook Pro a little better. The season right now in Georgia is going pretty good. The price for a box of tomatoes has gone up due to demand and it looks like my parents might be earning a little bit more money than last season, which is good news. I'm looking forward to a day off so I can go to the movie theatre. I'm excited to see the new Transformers movie.

Friday, June 18, 2009
11:54 p.m.

Guess what? Tomorrow a brand new iPhone is going to be released! I'm excited to hear what new record Apple is going to set for the number of iPhones sold this time around.

Saturday, June 19, 2009
11:34 p.m.

Another scorching hot day eliminated from this long summer! The month of June is almost done! Man, time is just flying by. Soon it'll be my first day of college. I was speaking with my dad today and we might not work this coming Sunday so we might head down to Florida for the weekend. I miss my friends and I would be so happy if we end up going back down!

Sunday, June 20, 2009
12:13 a.m.

Hey! Guess what? I'm currently on my way to Florida! YAY! I don't know yet if I'm going to have to drive, but probably not now. Perhaps on the way back. I'm super stoked to be going home even if it is for a day. I miss my friends and I hope to get to see some of them. We're only going to pick up a few things that weren't taken with us on our first trip up. After picking those things up we're coming right back up to be here for Monday, because we have work that day.

CHECK OUT WEEK ONE

CHECK OUT WEEKS THREE & FOUR

CHECK OUT WEEK FIVE

CHECK OUT WEEKS SIX & SEVEN

CHECK OUT WEEKS EIGHT & NINE

CHECK OUT WEEKS TEN & ELEVEN