![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Orchid-Foundation-2-1024x359.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cI do everything that I can think of to make sure that my girls are well-rounded and prepared for not only their academic lives but also the world,\u201d said Galicia, who\u2019s also a professional model and actress known for her role as Sheba in \u201cDjango Unchained.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inspired to give back, Galicia started The Orchid Foundation five-and-a-half years ago. At first, she said, she only planned to take on one girl, but before she had a chance to blink, there were eight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI found a ton of programs that were set up for boys and young men, and I wanted to create something for girls,\u201d said Galicia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Four of Galicia\u2019s Orchids are college juniors, and the other four are seniors in high school. Every three years, Galicia has her girls select high school freshmen, called \u201cOrchid buds,\u201d who they believe will be good additions to the group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI tell them to pick one, but that never happens,\u201d said Galicia. \u201cFour years ago, we had 11 buds. Only four of them made it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Galicia\u2019s Orchids don\u2019t always start at the top of their classes. But, due to consistent access to professional tutoring and academic support from each other, they tend to end up there. Each of Galicia\u2019s older Orchids graduated in the top 10 of their class. The younger Orchids are on track to achieve similar results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most popular programs that the foundation runs is its career day program, called Glass Ceiling Breakers. Several times a year, Orchids take field trips to different companies, where professionals host the girls by showing them their work environments and answering any questions that they may have. Oftentimes, Orchids leave career day with a new professional mentor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI like hearing the professionals\u2019 stories about where they started and how they got to where they are now,\u201d said Orchid Madison, a current high school senior. \u201cWe talk to multiple people in the same field, but everyone has different stories about how they got to where they are.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The foundation also runs a College Bootcamp program, in which the Orchids receive professional college admissions guidance from donors who graduated from some of the country\u2019s top universities, including Brown, Duke, Harvard and UPenn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a typical year, the donors turn their offices into mock college admissions headquarters, where the Orchids receive feedback on their college essays, interview skills and outfit selections, among other things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just an incredible opportunity for our Orchids to get some very specific guidance on how to go forward,\u201d said Galicia. \u201cSome of the people who work at the firms that do College Bootcamp for us are on boards at universities. If one of the people who writes a recommendation for you is on the board of the school that you\u2019re applying to, that helps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additional programs teach the Orchids about art history, coding, managing personal finances and analyzing stocks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you know any other teenagers who are constantly talking about stocks?\u201d asked Galicia. \u201cEvery Orchid can walk you through an E*Trade account and help you pick a stock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want my girls, in 30 years, when they are owning their own companies or are CEOs of other people\u2019s companies, to have everything that they possibly can in their arsenals,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Galicia also actively helps her Orchids land internships. She reaches out to companies, including those that the Orchids have visited on career days, and asks each company to reserve a spot for an Orchid who fits their culture and needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just recently started doing this,\u201d said Galicia. \u201cSo far, I\u2019m getting some great feedback. We have some amazing girls. It is hard to say no to us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, above all, Galicia has created a community of sisters who can rely on each other for anything and everything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of the girls are really close,\u201d said Galicia. \u201cSisterhood is at the heartbeat of what we do. It is the most important thing. We spend a lot of time encouraging each other, keeping each other on the right track and teaching each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without the Orchid Foundation and the emotional support it provides, many of the girls don\u2019t know where they would be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Orchid Foundation has increased my self-confidence tremendously,\u201d said Orchid Alison, a junior in college. \u201cPrior to being in the Orchid Foundation, I had really low self-esteem and I never wanted to advocate for myself because I was unaware of the power that I had inside of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Orchid sisters are there whenever I need them,\u201d added Orchid Alexa, a current high school senior. \u201cIf it is 2:00 a.m. and I need a paper revised or I\u2019m having issues with college applications, I feel like I can call anybody whenever I want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maintaining a family, though, costs money, and the Orchid Foundation is stretched thin. At this point, nearly 80 percent of the foundation\u2019s money goes towards paying the Orchids\u2019 college tuitions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is a myth to think that if you are a poor, minority student with great grades in this country that you are going to college for free,\u201d said Galicia. \u201cSo many of our dollars go towards helping our girls stay in school, it leaves little for anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOrchid Cuomba is really interested in starting a real-estate program for the Orchid Foundation, and we just don\u2019t have funds for those sorts of things,\u201d Galicia added. \u201cI want to inspire the girls academically, but I also want to encourage their entrepreneurial spirits. It takes money to run some of our programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like a parent or guardian, the Orchid Foundation is there to support the girls in any way that contributes to their overall wellbeing. Galicia wants foundation dollars to be there whether an Orchid needs books, a new comforter for her dorm room bed or even help with paying medical bills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI use my Orchid Foundation funds for my Orchids,\u201d said Galicia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For instance, Orchid Markayla, who beat stage 4 cancer after her senior year of high school, was just informed that her cancer is back. She now needs $50,000 to appropriately treat the disease. Galicia hopes to find a way to contribute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt would be so fantastic to magically have $200,000 rain upon us so that I could give a portion of it to Markayla,\u201d said Galicia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Orchid Foundation is small, but not out of choice. With additional funding, Galicia would also be able to expand its programs and educate more girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt would be amazing to be able to have an impact on more lives,\u201d said Galicia. \u201cWe are on a shoestring budget as it is, and I have a 40-person waitlist. Dollars are precious and they are very hard to come by.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two of the most important ingredients to success are support and opportunity. Few people understand this better than Nichole Galicia, founder of the Orchid Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission of mentoring underserved girls to and through college. Galicia takes in young women who show passion for academics and extracurriculars but lack resources due to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":48787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[645,230],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discourse","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-Orchid-Foundation.png",830,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-Orchid-Foundation-224x144.png",224,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-Orchid-Foundation-300x193.png",300,193,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-Orchid-Foundation.png",830,533,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-Orchid-Foundation.png",830,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-Orchid-Foundation.png",830,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-Orchid-Foundation.png",830,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jackson Schroeder","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/jackson-schroeder\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Two of the most important ingredients to success are support and opportunity. Few people understand this better than Nichole Galicia, founder of the Orchid Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission of mentoring underserved girls to and through college. Galicia takes in young women who show passion for academics and extracurriculars but lack resources due to…","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-Orchid-Foundation.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}