Scholarships help student visualize their future
Yoshi Ascencio ’27
March 31, 2026 — Yoshi Ascencio ’27 is always up for new adventures, continually taking the path less traveled, which includes their decision to attend Grinnell College.
What helped pave the way for Ascencio’s decision to attend Grinnell was the multiple scholarships they received. The collective support of donors and scholarship programs propels students to explore a variety of interests.
A first-generation college student, Ascencio hails from Los Angeles. “In high school, I assumed I’d be going straight into work instead of higher education,” Ascencio says. “But my advisor told me about QuestBridge.”
QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization connecting high achieving, underserved high school students with educational opportunities at top U.S. colleges. Grinnell provides scholarships to QuestBridge students through a matching process.
“Grinnell was my first-ranked choice,” Ascencio explains. “What stood out was its emphasis on community and the open curriculum that would allow me to delve into my love of art while having the freedom to explore topics I wouldn’t otherwise.”
Yoshi Ascencio ’27 displays artwork
alongside fellow students in a
Bucksbaum Arts Center studio.
As a middle school student, Ascencio discovered anime and manga, teaching themselves Japanese to understand these mediums in their own language. Continuing with Japanese classes at Grinnell, Ascencio is studying in Japan this spring with the help of the Class of 1979 Endowed Scholarship, which was set up by the class during their 40th reunion to help students with financial need.
Ascencio received the Marcus and Annie Berkson Younker Scholarships last school year, a fund set up in 1942 to help students with financial need.
“Thanks to these resources, I have been able to learn a new language and study abroad,” Ascencio says.
With a passion for animation, Ascencio is a studio art major with a concentration in film and media studies.
A self-described visual storyteller who advocates for environmental justice and accessible mental health support, Ascencio has always known they wanted to create art to tell their own and others’ stories. Their goal is to get into the creative industry to bring stories forward that haven’t been voiced.
“My scope has broadened since being at Grinnell,” Ascencio says. “I previously wanted to tell stories about fellow first-generation students who are queer and of Mexican descent. Now, as I learn more about myself and the barriers I didn’t notice before, I’ve expanded the scope of stories I’d like to tell, such as stories that explore environmental issues.”
—by Melanie Drake ’92