Sam Houston High School Students visit Southern California Universities

Submitted by Guest Blogger: Lieutenant Colonel Jason Mims, US Army Retired

What happens when a community member spends time at the public high school in his urban ZIP code?

SHHS students on the UCLA campus October 2016

In my case, I encounter students who have a desire to make use of this national treasure we call public education.   These encounters are sources of inspiration and fuel my activities related to promoting Academic Excellence in my community.  Others have raised the level of interest in having some of our district's high-achieving students attend Tier 1 Universities and institutions committed to meeting 100% of accepted students' financial need.

I realize that I can support that goal with my time, talent, training, and treasure. 

 One senior this year at Sam Houston High is Tierra Starks.  She has been ranked in the top ten in her class cohort since I started paying attention a couple of years ago.  Last year I served as an advisor to the National Honor Society and noticed her prominent role as the chapter's secretary.   She may not have noticed that I was paying particular attention to her because, at the time, it appeared that my focus was on guiding another student to my Notre Dame alma mater.  

This year,Tierra is the president of NHS and vice-president of the student council.  I passed some information to her and her mom this summer.  She participated in the "Ya Veremos" college trip to some twenty institutions in the Northeast. Of the 19 student participants, she was the only one from Sam Houston High.  During a fellowship with her and her mom before the trip, however, Tierra shared that her dream school is the University of Southern California.

SHHS Faculty and Students on a College Tour; University of Southern California

As the school year reached the end of its first month, I started to wonder if any effort were being made to get Tierra out to visit her dream school.  I threw some ideas out to Mr White, the proud principal of Sam Houston.  I asked Tierra to help me plan a trip.  She came up the names of two other student participants and a faculty member.  Together, the students decided on the date for the trip and the four schools in the Los Angeles area that we would visit.

Mr. White agreed to let Mr. Shugart and Ms. Wallace serve as school chaperones on the trip.  Mr. Shugart teaches social studies and is the faculty sponsor for the Youth In Government/ Student Council.  Ms. Wallace is pursuing a Master's degree in Education and serves as the Trinity University Resident Implementation Specialist on Sam Houston's campus.  Tierra picked the president of the student body, Jason Orosco, and Eileen Moran-Robles, vice-president of the student council, as the other two student trip participants.  

We can now answer a question.  When was the last time students from the public high school in ZIP code 78220 explored and visited campuses in Southern California that offer to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for accepted students?  From October 26-30, 2016, three students from Sam Houston High visited the University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, Pomona College, and Claremont McKenna College.  While on the trip, both seniors (Tierra and Jason) worked on their CommonApp.org applications to Pomona.   

Some seniors from San Antonio's Eastside high schools can serve as explorers.  They can create--even for a brief time--a Sam Houston presence on previously unexplored college campuses.  What may follow is the desire and expectation that some high-achieving Sam students prepare for, apply to, and attend colleges that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need.