SAN FRANCISCO — Samir Hooker doesn’t take days off. He is constantly fighting with his body and mind. That battle started when Samir was only nine years old. In 2012, his stepfather was shot dead in San Francisco’s Western Addition neighborhood.
“It was tough,” Hooker recalled. “Before that (shooting), my family — we didn’t have everything, but we were financially secure because my dad gave everything my mom couldn’t. But when he got shot, it really took a toll on my mom financially and on all of us. We had to move neighborhoods and live a life without a father figure to protect the house. So that’s kind of who I became.”
Samir, a young boy forced to become a man, grew up in a neighborhood plagued by drug use and violence. His mother was determined to keep him out of trouble, but his mother was fighting her own battle with her health. She struggled with several autoimmune diseases. One night in 2020, she reached a breaking point. Samir was only 16 years old when he had to carry her to the emergency room.
It was the height of COVID and Hooker was not allowed to see his mother in the hospital. He was left alone for weeks to fend for himself and his sister. He is forever grateful to his high school, Sacred Heart Cathedral, for helping him.
“They donated some money to my family and they were able to help provide some things that we couldn’t get right now with my sister,” Hooker said.
His mother eventually came home, but college and his future plans were never on his radar. He grew up watching many of his friends and family die in his neighborhood.
“It’s just a paradigm for young men where I come from. Unfortunately, they haven’t seen university or higher education, let alone any age over 18.”
Then Students Rising Above stepped in to help him navigate the college application process. Hooker had his pick of top schools, but knew he had to stay close to home, so he chose UC Berkeley.
“I see my mother almost dying during the COVID period. I see my sister with a lot of uncertainty and some kind of fear and that made me stay home.”
Samir studies political economy and wants to own his own startup one day. But his big dreams also take him back home where he hopes to inspire the next generation by teaching the young people in his neighborhood that it is possible to make your dreams come true, even in the most difficult circumstances.
You can support Students Rising Above by donating to their fundraising initiative Support dreams to degrees. Every donation you make before June 30 will be matched dollar for dollar up to $150,000.
