Modesto high school graduates leaving for big opportunities. What’s key to winning them back?
This spring, more than 3,750 students across Modesto City Schools’ high schools will accept their diplomas and prepare for the next stages of their lives.
In hopes of finding better career opportunities and more life experiences, some who will head off to college in the fall said they don’t plan to return to Stanislaus County. The opportunities they see here don’t align with their goals.
The Bee spoke with two of those students. One serves as the student representative on the school board and was accepted to multiple Ivy League schools. The other is the student body president and headed to a prestigious university on the East Coast.
Young people continue a pattern of leaving Modesto despite attempts by city and county leaders to diversify the area’s economy, grow the workforce and make the area more accommodating and attractive to that demographic.
According to census data used to track migration patterns of young people in the U.S., Modesto has lagged behind larger neighboring areas like Sacramento and Fresno when it comes to the number of residents 16 to 26 years old who move out of the area.
Only about 65% of people in that age range stay in Modesto, compared to 67% in Sacramento and 75% in the Fresno area. In addition, only 50% of young Black people stay in Modesto, according to the data.
IB student finds a place closer to the world stage
Dzifa Ackuayi is a senior at Modesto High School who will receive her International Baccalaureate diploma, awarded only to students who complete the college-level program.
Planning to work in politics and law, Ackuayi— the school board student representative — aspires to go to school on the East Coast to study political science and economics, miles away from the familiar small town. She’s been accepted into several Ivy League schools including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Brown and Columbia, in addition to top California schools such as Stanford and USC.
“When I was applying for colleges, I wanted to be able to be in a space where I got to dip my fingers into politics on a more national and international level than I think I could find here,” she said.
Ackuayi said she will be attending Harvard for its extensive government program and the Institute of Politics.
“One of the reasons why Harvard is my top choice is because of the access that I’d have to faculty, alumni, or guest speakers who have regularly graced world stages and who can regularly grace the campus and open a door to infinite opportunities for myself and my peers,” she said.
She found many classmates in similar positions, looking to leave Modesto or Stanislaus County altogether. She believes this is due to her peers wanting to experience new things and meet new people.
“I see Modesto growing into a greater hub for technology and agriculture, so there is growth, just not necessarily in the field that I’m personally more interested in,” she said.
Duke-bound student says local opportunities are limited
Keith Buenrostro, the student body president of Modesto High School, also plans to leave the city for college. He will be attending Duke University to study economics and public policy. After finishing his undergraduate degree, he plans to go to law school.
Buenrostro chose Duke because its interdisciplinary program curriculum is known for preparing students for law school and beyond, and because of the community engagement on its campus.
“Modesto is at the center of many different industries — agriculture to name one — however, there are not many local opportunities offered for students to gain substantial experience in fields like law, politics, and medicine,” he said. “For many, it is necessary to travel to places or institutions recognized for these industries and career paths.”
According to Choose Modesto, a resource center for local business and those considering coming here, the top five most popular occupations in the city are office and administrative support, transportation and material moving, sales, healthcare support and food preparation.
In addition, the California Employment Development Department shows major employers in Stanislaus County include Amazon, Bartles & Jaymes Co. and Del Monte Foods Inc.
Though Buenrostro believes many of his peers are leaving the county for education opportunities, he believes they will return for various career roles since the city has positions for specific industries.
“Of course, our institutions aren’t as well-known as many across the country, but someone seeking a good education will likely find it in Stanislaus County,” he said. “Many students I know plan on returning to Modesto or their hometowns upon completing university because they have a specific job or career in mind.”
How to get students to return after college?
Marian Kaanon, president of the Stanislaus Community Foundation, said suburban communities like Stanislaus often lose their college students, and it is not always a bad thing, but the key is how to attract that talent back.
In 2018, the foundation commissioned a report on talent migration, which found that the younger generation was attracted to cultural and downtown amenities and mixed-use housing. She also said the report found this demographic is looking for well-paying jobs with advancement opportunities and affordable housing near downtown spaces.
“Modesto has made some improvement in these areas with the Downtown Modesto Partnership, the focus on new industry clusters through BEAM Circular and Stanislaus 2030 and the cultural hot spots offered through Gallo Center for the Arts and the Tuolumne River recreational area,” Kaanon said. “However, affordable housing and especially housing options downtown are limited. I think we have to work on these multiple fronts to keep and attract young talent.”
Dave White, the chief executive officer at Opportunity Stanislaus, said the city is also working to better engage its young adult demographic.
White highlights the importance of supporting the agricultural and food processing industries in the community as it has brought many jobs and opportunities for people for years, but believes diversifying the economy can appeal and bring more people to move to the region.
“The best economies anywhere are diversified economies because people have choices of what they can do,” he said. “That’s how you retain your young people, especially the ones who have aspirations to move forward with higher education. You have more opportunities for them.”
According to the census data, only 14.5% of people aged 25 and up living in Modesto hold a bachelor’s degree and 6.1% hold a graduate or professional degree.
“We need to have a nice community, a place where people would want to be that have higher skills and we need to have sites available that these companies can locate in, in order to grow,” he said.
Although many students will leave behind Modesto for the next stage in their lives, many of them have pride in their hometown and are thankful for the opportunities they received here.
“So many brilliant minds have been molded here and are molding future generations. I know that the accomplishments that I’ve made academically and otherwise would not be possible without the opportunities that I’ve had in the arts, in public service, and academically here in Modesto,” Ackuayi said.
This story was originally published May 15, 2024, 6:00 AM.
