A Life Impacted stories highlight the individuals and families whose lives are changed through the work of our investees. These stories offer a deeper look at how expanded access to opportunity can create lasting social and economic mobility.
High school was a busy time for native San Antonian Yasmin Perez.
She played volleyball, started her own flower bouquet business to make extra money, and earned exceptional grades in an International Baccalaureate program. She even graduated as her class salutatorian.
Yasmin was the first person in her family to seek postsecondary education, and she faced steep challenges as a low-income student. She had little support applying to colleges, and she knew that her parents would struggle to pay for school. So, despite her strong grades and extracurriculars, Yasmin wasn’t sure she would be able to fulfill her dream of earning a college degree.
However, a new program from UP Partnership – a San Antonio-based organization that coordinates data, aligns pathways, and promotes policy change that can help to unlock the full potential of young people in Bexar County – provided a pathway to college for Yasmin. UP Partnership has received a multi-year investment from Blue Meridian Partners to support the execution of the Future Ready Bexar County Plan in San Antonio and Bexar County. In partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), UP Partnership would provide direct admission to UTSA for the top 25% of local high school seniors in the San Antonio School District.
Yasmin was one of the first students to earn UTSA admission through this program. And since she secured her spot early, she also got her financial aid estimate much sooner than if she had applied during regular admissions. This information allowed her to better prepare for her first year in college and secure the resources she would need not just to succeed, but to thrive.
Yet the partnership’s assistance did not stop there. The university introduced an early notification system to keep in touch with future students—a huge help to young people like Yasmin whose first-generation status makes them less familiar with the process of entering postsecondary programs.
Additionally, every high-achieving program recipient is invited to join the USTA Honors College. This living and learning community helps young people with similar goals befriend, study with, and support one another. That way, no student goes through the transition to college alone, and each of them can lean on their classmates to move forward.
Thanks to UP Partnership’s collaboration with UTSA, Yasmin entered college with a tight-knit, goal-oriented community. She plans to major in mechanical engineering and is excited to continue to take advantage of all the opportunities her education can foster.
The direct admissions program made college more accessible to me, and I am excited to continue my studies at UTSA to become that legacy I want to leave in my community.”
Yasmin Perez