Next Generation Scholars, a Marin County nonprofit that supports first-generation students, will host its annual “Rising Up Together” gala on April 26 at the organization’s Scholar House in San Rafael.

Proceeds from the gala will support programs serving first-generation students and their families through year-round academic and enrichment programming designed to prepare students for college and long-term success.

Historically, 99% of the organization’s high school seniors have been accepted to four-year colleges, with 95% graduating within five years, according to the nonprofit.

“As an alum of NGS myself, I’ve experienced firsthand what’s possible when young people are supported consistently over time and challenged to lead in their schools, their communities, and their own lives,” said Nghiem Bui, executive director of Next Generation Scholars.

The event will feature remarks from alumnus Angel Ku, who will share his experience as a first-generation college student supported by the organization. Ku now works in the medical technology field.

Tickets cost $175 and are available online.

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.