A few students and recent alumni are in the process of turning their almost 1-year-old group, which works to enable and increase access to higher education among minority students who attend Houston-area high schools, into an official nonprofit organization.
Houstonians for Organizing People for Education visit high schools across the city to encourage a college education. | Courtesy of Kim Mai Le
Houstonians Organizing People for Education also provides scholarships, training and other assistance to students through its High School Leadership Development Initiative. HSLDI helps students and parents navigate the college admissions process and succeed throughout their secondary academic career.
Kim Mai Le, a chemical engineering junior and co-chair of the Scholarship and Recruiting Committee, said she can relate to the high school students with whom she currently works.
“The stories that I have heard from these high school students are inspiring. It made me cry thinking about the struggles these students have overcome at such a young age. I could relate to some of the students as I, too, have overcome many obstacles relating to finances and family,” she said.
UH alumna Melissa Hernandez, an accounting graduate student at the University of Texas and co-founder of HOPE, said she was also inspired to help students succeed because she knows how difficult it is to access college education with little help.
“As a first-generation (college) student, I understand the challenges that one must overcome during the college application process as well as the stress of financing a college education,” she said.
Adilene Medino, a civil engineering junior and recruiting leader for HOPE, helps students with the essay portion of college admissions during her “Story of Self” session.
“During this session, the students receive a brief presentation on how important and powerful a personal story can be,” Medino said. “We help the students develop their personal stories in order for them to have a personal statement they can use for scholarship or college applications.”
HOPE has been involved with campuses throughout the Houston area and Alief Independent School District. They also diversify the students they reach by offering advice for college admissions in different languages.
“This year, in addition to our regular sessions, we also provided Spanish sessions for Spanish-speaking students at our Project Grad Houston event,” Hernandez said.
Le said college students who want to get involved can visit thehopecollaborative.org.
“We welcome all students from different majors,” Le said. “This will allow students to be able to talk to current students to find out more about the college life. Currently, we are looking for volunteers as leadership coaches at our next event at Sharpstown High School on April 12.”
By becoming a nonprofit organization, HOPE will be able to help more students.
“By becoming a full nonprofit organization, we would be able to expand our organization, have greater access to funding and be able to better serve our students by providing greater assistance, more programs and scholarships,” Hernandez said.
Medino said she is excited at the prospect of helping more students and that HOPE students have inspired her just as much as she has inspired them.
“I realized I was capable of inspiring high school students to pursue their dreams despite the challenges they have/are facing,” Medino said. “It amazed me to see the numerous challenges many are going through and at the same time, I became extremely thankful for what I have now.”
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