WHAT: A UC Davis graduate — who has overcome much since a 2008 stabbing by her brother left her a quadriplegic — will return to Grant Union High School in Sacramento to help inspire students to go to university.

Lisa Vannalee, now a champion for mental health issues and forgiveness, will join spoken word performers, UC Davis mascot Gunrock and other speakers at a UC Davis event to encourage students to aim for college.

Through "Achieve UC," Davis and other UC campuses are holding events at schools with lower than average college-going rates.

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 12

• Presentations in classrooms, 8:44 a.m. to 9:43 a.m.
• Assembly, Main Gym, 9:50 a.m. to 10:49 a.m.
• UC Senior Lunch, Little Theatre, 11:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.
• College Resource Fair, Main Cafeteria, 11:55 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.

WHERE: Grant Union High School, 1400 Grand Ave., Sacramento, 95838

WHO: Speaking at the event will be:

• Lisa Vannalee, a 2009 graduate of Grant High School who earned a degree in psychology from UC Davis in 2013;
• Charday Adams, a 2010 graduate of Grant High School recognized as one of Sacramento's most influential young people in 2011 and, after earning two University of Southern California degrees, is now an analyst with the California Department of Education;
• Tyree Davie, a graduate of the high school in 2008 and Moorehouse College in 2012;
• Kari Stewart, executive director for education pipeline programs and statewide director of the Early Academic Outreach Program, or EAOP, for the University of California;
• Darris Hinson, principal of Grant Union High School; and
• Harold Stewart-Carballo, regional assistant director of EAOP at UC Davis.

VISUALS:

• UC Davis mascot Gunrock rallying the assembly of grade 9 students;
• spoken word performances by Sacramento Area Youth Speaks, (SAYS), a critical literacy program based at UC Davis;
• presentations about college-going in classrooms;
• students visiting a college resource fair in the main cafeteria; and
• outstanding seniors lunching with UC Davis representatives.

BACKGROUND: Vannalee wants students at her former high school to work hard and know that a university education can take them far. "You can discover so many possibilities at university," she said. "I found them at UC Davis."

Through its Early Academic Outreach Program and others, UC Davis partners with schools, including Grant Union High School, to help students learn about college and career opportunities while assisting the schools to offer more rigorous curricula that align with UC and CSU requirements.

Grant, one of the oldest public high schools in the Sacramento area, and the EAOP program at UC Davis, have been partners for more than three decades. EAOP offers student advising, and, through a cohort program, works with students from grade 8 through 12. Principal Darris Hinson participated in the EAOP program as a Grant student in the 1980s.

Two out of every three Grant students who applied to UC campuses over the last three years were admitted.

As part of Achieve UC, students will learn about scholarships designed to make college affordable to all Californians including UC’s Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, which covers the full cost of tuition for students whose families earn $80,000 a year or less, and UC Davis’ Aggie Grant Plan, which awards about $3,000 annually to students whose families earn between $80,000 and $120,000 a year.

UC Davis' EAOP, which helped organize the school visit, is one of five UC-sponsored college preparation programs through which UC Davis serves more than 25,000 students and more than 40 schools in 11 Northern California counties.

For the University of California news release, see: http://universityofcalifornia.edu/news/uc-leaders-head-back-high-school

DIRECTIONS and PARKING: Grant is located at 1400 Grand Ave., Sacramento. From Interstate 80, take Marysville Boulevard south. Turn west on Grand Avenue. The entrance to the school parking lot is on the left.