For students who graduate from Early College High Schools (ECHS), the transition to college can be both exciting and daunting. At 17 or 18, ECHS graduates already have college credits and the academic experience of older students, but as they transition to four-year institutions and into advanced upper-level courses, they are often still figuring out who they are and where they’re headed.
The GTF Scholars program was created to help make that transition a little less overwhelming. Since 2012, Greater Texas Foundation has invested $27 million to support the success of GTF Scholars, providing not only financial support but also the connections, resources and encouragement students need to thrive. Today, more than 3,100 Early College High School graduates have been served by the program.
We recently caught up with five GTF Scholar alumni to hear what they’ve been doing since graduation and, perhaps more importantly, the lasting impact of their experience as a GTF Scholar. Across all our conversations, a few common themes emerged.
Believing in the power of a college education
For GTF Scholar alumni, the value of higher education is about more than a credential. It’s about opening doors and creating possibilities.
For Yasmin Reiya Abuan, who graduated from Texas A&M University-Central Texas in August 2026, being a GTF Scholar helped her accelerate her path to a degree while giving her opportunities to grow along the way. Through the GTF Scholars Leadership Conference, monthly workshops and connections with other Scholars, she gained experiences that extended well beyond the classroom.
“Everyone’s journey to college is different, but that shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your dreams,” Abuan says.
That belief in the possibilities ahead continues to shape her life after graduation. She has been traveling, participating in a Citizen Police Academy summer program, and pursuing a path into the military.
For R’euana Malone, the journey has taken her from Texas A&M University-San Antonio to the University of California, Berkeley, where she began a master’s degree in journalism in fall 2026. Her experience as a Scholar helped her see that there wasn’t one prescribed way to navigate college or build a future.
“Being a GTF Scholar taught me that my path does not have to look like everyone else’s, and I can continue growing at my own pace,” Malone says.
Knowing someone is in your corner
Perhaps the most common theme among the alumni is the importance of having people who believed in them.
Andrea Cavazos, a 2016 graduate of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, remembers the encouragement she received as a GTF Scholar. Today, she works in a Montessori school as a special education teacher assistant and is completing an alternative certification program with hopes of having her own classroom.
“Being part of the program helped me build confidence in myself and reminded me that I had people who believed in my success,” Cavazos says.
For Mia Garcia, that support became a model for the work she does today. After graduating from Texas A&M University-San Antonio in 2020, Garcia built a career in higher education, working with Early College and dual credit students. She earned her MBA in 2024 and recently began a new position with one of the Alamo Colleges in San Antonio.
Looking back, she remembers what it felt like to be a teenager suddenly expected to navigate college, career choices and adulthood.
“GTF met us where we were,” Garcia says. “That support made me feel like I had people in my corner while I was figuring everything out.”
Today, she tries to offer that same feeling to the students she serves.
“There is something really special about being able to turn the support I received into support for the next generation of students,” she says.
Carrying confidence forward
The lessons these GTF Scholars gained weren’t confined to their college years. They continue to shape how they approach work, relationships and the future.
Amare Dykes, who graduated from Texas A&M University-Central Texas in May 2026, says the program helped him develop practical skills before he even graduated. Today, he is working part-time as an Early College High School Associate in the TAMU-CT program while pursuing creative interests including sketching, music and storytelling.
“Besides paying for my classes, being a GTF Scholar helped me by preparing me for the real world after college,” Dykes says. “I may not know what I want to do yet, but I feel confident knowing I have the skills to survive in the world.”
“If there is anything that I learned and still carry with me today, it would be how to properly make connections,” he says. “Sure, resumes can get you noticed, but building connections with different people, not just those that are on my career path, allows me to get my foot in the door.”
For R’euana Malone, that confidence means being willing to step into the opportunities that life presents.
“One thing I still carry with me is the confidence to take opportunities even when I feel like I may not be ready for them,” she says. “I am excited to travel the world and tell the stories of people and communities that may otherwise go unheard.”
And for Andrea Cavazos, the lesson is commitment:
“As a GTF Scholar, I learned the importance of perseverance, hard work, and believing in myself.”
The accomplishments of these five alumni look different. One is beginning graduate school. Two are building careers in education. Others are exploring what comes next.
But their stories share something important: the impact of a GTF Scholarship doesn’t end at graduation.
The program may help a student get across the finish line, but the confidence, connections and belief in their own potential can continue long after they leave the college classroom.
“The path ahead is full of change and growth, and I’m ready to embrace it all,” says Yasmin Reiya Abuan.
And perhaps that is the most lasting measure of success: not simply where a student goes after college, but the confidence to keep moving forward—and, eventually, to help someone else do the same.
About the GTF Scholars Program
The rapid growth of Early College High Schools across Texas reflects a statewide commitment to helping more students, especially first-generation and economically disadvantaged students, bridge the gap between high school, college and career. Today, more than 230 campuses are implementing or planning Early College High Schools.
The GTF Scholars program builds on this momentum by providing the holistic support students need to successfully transition from Early College into higher education. GTF Scholars persist and graduate at higher rates and take on less loan debt than their peers. Read the research.