Nineteen students from the Dallas Independent School District and their families recently participated in a pomp and circumstance ceremony modeled after and befitting of similar high-profile professional- and collegiate-sports signing days.
The Jindal Young Scholars Program Signing Day event was held May 24 in the Davidson Auditorium and atrium. Students signed letters stating their intent to enroll at The University of Texas at Dallas and major in an undergraduate degree program offered by the Naveen Jindal School of Management.
Established in 2018 with four students, the program was the brainchild of Dr. Hasan Pirkul, Caruth Chair and dean of the Jindal School. A partnership between JSOM and the Dallas ISD, the program’s mission is to aid economically disadvantaged high school students from Dallas schools and help prepare them for college-readiness.
“In starting this program, we wanted to ensure every student in DISD had the opportunity to attend college, and not only this college,” Pirkul said. “Our message was to encourage freshmen to study and work hard to accomplish the things that would allow them to attend college. This class is our largest to date and my dream is that one day the number of students will reach into the hundreds.”
Participating students who meet the eligibility requirements receive an annual award for up to four years that will take care of any unmet need after federal, state and institutional financial assistance is applied for and granted.
Twelve students in the 2023 cohort of young scholars are from the Marvin E. Robinson School of Business and Management at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center: Dunia De La Rosa, Miranda Flores, Noel Garcia, Alexa Gonzalez, Emily Gonzalez, Miguel Martinez, Stephanie Moran, Layla Munoz, Liliana Puga, Denyce Tostado, Stephanie Velazquez Rivera and Daniela Wachsmuth. Emily’s older brother, Jacob, BS’22, MS’23, was in the second JYSP cohort and is currently an auditing associate at KPMG.
Guadalupe Medellin, Valerie Molina and Arlette Perez come from Moisés E. Molina High School. Vanessa Bocanegra and Christian De Santiago come from Grady Spruce High School. Rounding out the 2023 cohort are Donna Diaz Hernandez from W.T. White High School and Deise Equihua from Franklin D. Roosevelt High School.
“I consider this program to be a gift from `God,” said Martinez, who plans to major in accounting. “My parents would never be able to afford college. This will allow me to work toward and achieve my dreams.”
Denyce Tostado, who also plans to major in accounting, echoed Martinez’ comments.
“I’m very grateful to be able to attend college,” she said.
While the program benefits the students, it also is a positive for the Jindal School.
“Many high school students are not fully aware of the postsecondary opportunities available to them and the benefits a higher education can provide them,” said program director Dr. Billy Schewee. “The program is helping the Jindal School of Management fulfill a community need by providing resources for high school students to help them make more informed choices with respect to postsecondary education. Moreover, the students who are selected as JYSP Scholarship recipients are adding to an already outstanding pool of talented JSOM students.”
More than 550 students in grades 9 to 12 from across the five partner Dallas ISD campuses signed up for the college-readiness program.
Jindal School undergraduates serve as JYSP mentors, conducting mentorship sessions at Dallas ISD campuses. They also host or co-host SAT and ACT preparation sessions in the fall and spring.
All five schools in the program are represented in the 2023 class. JYSP graduates have gone on to attend 26 colleges and universities in the program’s six-year history.
“Our plans are to keep expanding the program—more schools, more districts, more donor dollars—so that we can serve more students,” Schewee said.
Goals for the 2023-24 academic year are to recruit 700 high school students across all the partner schools. Plans are also in the works to bring the Richardson Independent School District into the program.
“We have met with the Richardson ISD superintendent, Tabitha Branum, and her staff about adding Richardson ISD to the JYSP family,” Schewee said. “We also have met with principals at two of Richardson ISD’s high schools and now need to complete details of the process in order to officially have them come on board. Our goal is to have that completed this summer.”
