The Answer - A blog about Education, Preparation, and Commitment.

YES Prep Alumna Featured in Podcast on College Persistence

April 16, 2012 by Tenesha Villanueva

Throughout this current school year, YES Prep Public Schools will be hosting Emily Hanford, an education reporter from American RadioWorks.   American RadioWorks produces radio and web documentaries, feature stories for public radio programs (most often Marketplace on NPR) and newspaper and magazine articles for various publications.  Emily is currently working on a year-long project about college readiness and persistence and in particular, digging into the question of what college readiness means and what it takes to prepare students, especially students from low-income families whose parents are not college graduates.  Given this is her focus and our intimate work in this area, she requested to focus her story heavily on YES Prep and dive deep into these

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Alumni Spotlight:  Maria “Luly” Castillo, YES Prep Class of 2001

March 13, 2012 by Tenesha Villanueva

Maria “Luly” Castillo is a member of YES Prep’s first ever graduating class in 2001.  She attended Drexel University where she majored in Mechanical Engineering and graduated in 2006.  Luly currently works as a Principal Engineer for Halliburton’s Wireline Business Development team in Houston. 

Luly on her experience at YES Prep…

What is your favorite YES Prep memory?

I know many adults say that high school years are the most precious and that you will always keep them close to your heart; today, I can truly say my high school years were the best! I have tons of great memories, from having creative teachers that created songs to teach us formulas or help us understand the diversity of the world through music.  I also recall teachers creating plays out of novels we read and having

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Alumni Perspectives: The Transfer Transition by Mikhail Abad

March 06, 2012 by Tenesha Villanueva

Choosing the right college during my senior year was a challenge!  On Senior Signing Day in April 2009, I proudly announced “next fall I will attend…University of Tulsa!”, however, in August 2009 I stepped foot on Creighton University’s campus in Omaha, Nebraska. As an 18 year old high school senior, I was young and indecisive, or perhaps you can say I just love change. At the time, Creighton University was the right decision for me; I experienced many new things, enjoyed the small learning environment, and developed great friendships.   However, change won out again, and I made the decision to switch my major and follow my dreams of becoming architect; a path Creighton could not offer. 

Now, my decision to change majors was not made on a whim; I have always been torn between graphic

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Alumni Perspectives: Never Judge a School by its Color by Martin Perez

March 01, 2012 by Tenesha Villanueva

Why Texas Southern University? I thought that was a school for all blacks? Why would you consider, much less, attend an all-black school? These are only a sampling of the questions I am asked when I tell people what college I attend. Graduating from a predominately Hispanic high school and being surrounded by Hispanics the majority of the time, has always given me a sense of belonging.  To be honest, I didn’t know that an “all-black” school even existed and wasn’t really concerned about the racial or ethnic makeup of a college campus when I was going through the college selection and application process.  Perhaps, it was my counselor, Ms. Monique Calderon, and the way in which she presented various options to me.  She showed me what TSU was really about; she spoke about the academics,

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Alumni Spotlight: Peter Gotting, YES Prep Southeast Class of 2005

February 21, 2012 by Tenesha Villanueva

Peter Gotting graduated from YES Prep Southeast in 2005.  He attended the University of St. Thomas where he majored in Environmental Studies and graduated in 2009.  Peter currently serves as a Community and Environmental Organizer for Texas Gulf Coast and will defend his Masters thesis in Community and Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico later this spring. 

Peter on his experience at YES Prep...

What is your favorite YES Prep memory?  

I honestly do not know which to choose. My seven years at YES Prep was full of so many defining or meaningful moments for me that I find it difficult to have a favorite. At the risk of sounding cheesy, some of the most special moments for me were school assemblies. Seeing everyone grouped together, all of our teachers, the

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