Yaritza Sanchez is an Alumni of Citizen Schools Massachusetts. This is an excerpt from her blog, "Chile Through My Eyes."

I first got introduced to Citizen Schools as a 6th grader at the McCormack Middle School. Just like many students I was forced to enter by my parent who didn't want me to be home doing nothing after school. At first, I did not like it, but that was because I did not give it a chance. Once I started to make friends at the program, I did not mind being there. I continued the afterschool program until my 8th-grade year. By then I no longer had to be forced to attend. I loved everything about the program my friends and the team leaders. My classmates and the team leader had become like a family to me. Citizen Schools had opened my eyes to many opportunities there are for students. 

Read more on Yaritza's blog, Chile Through My Eyes.