“Without the program, it would have made the college process a lot harder,” Sunset Alum, Fredi Santos
Procrastination can be a student’s biggest enemy, but for Dallas Sunset Alumni Fredi
Santos it can also be the pathway to success. Before joining the LNESC Upward Bound program, Mr.Santos always tended to hold things off until the very last minute. “I tend to focus on the present than the future,” Santos said. “Upward Bound told me to do things now and get ahead of the game.” Fredi joined the Upward Bound program in the Summer of 2019. Generally, the program tends to focus on recruitment through freshman & sophomores, but Fredi was the exception.
“He showed a lot of promise and that’s honestly what it came down too.,” LNESC Program Manager Roger Romer said. “He said everything correctly, he was very genuine and sincere about his long-term goals. He had the drive and he had the ambition. Furthermore, He was classified as scientifically low income and I think that for us helped us make the decision to choose Fredi even though he was a senior at the time of our program. With the guidance and persistence from the program, Fredi soon realized that he needed to focus on the present if he wanted to get into his college. His mindset was he needed to ensure he was “getting rid of a lot of procrastination” and that he needed to take care of things “when needed too.”
Upward Bound played a significant part in ensuring Mr.Santos did not wait till the last minute to take charge of his college application. “They kept me persistence in scholarships,” Fredi said. “They also took a chuck of my procrastination and got rid of it.”
Due to the change in work ethic and assistance from the program, Fredi will now be attending Texas A&M University with an emphasis on mathematics. His career goal is to become a teacher. “Being in the program really got me thinking that I really like helping people,” Fredi said.
The upward bound alumni’s dream of becoming a teacher is almost certain now, as the upcoming college freshman will be attending the university with $19,000 worth of scholarships and financial aid. One scholarship that certain individuals from the LNESC program are awarded is the Ford Driving Dreams Scholarship. The scholarships award $2,000 to qualifying local high school seniors in the North Texas, Houston and San Antonio areas.
“The program provided certain scholarships and assistance with a lot of college stuff,” Fredi said. Without the support of the LNESC program, Fredi truly believes he would still be attending Texas A&M, but with a lot more struggles and money. “I think I would still be attending Texas A&M but I would struggle more having to do it on my own,” Fredi said. “Without the program I would either A be attending A&M with less scholarships or B attending Sam Houston State due in part to their criminal justice program.”
Being an upcoming first-generation college student, Fredi feels a lot more confidence attending Texas A&M and that is due in part to the Upward Program. “Without the program, it would have made the college process a lot harder.” If there is anything to say about the Upward Bound Program, Fredi has nothing but praise for the staff and advice for upcoming members of the program.
To the Staff Fredi states: “I want to say thank you for the opportunity of joining the program my senior year,” As for future and current Upward Bound Members, “Procrastination is your biggest enemy.”