TECH CORPS Texas

As the educational crisis becomes more severe across the country, TECH CORPS Texas, in partnership with the Hashoo foundation, Houston ISD, local Houston businesses, and many others have worked together to combat high drop-out rates. The resulting project, “Expectation Graduation,” is an initiative to show students the value of staying in school and the city’s “commitment to action.”  Under the leadership of the Hashoo Foundation, the Expectation Graduation pilot program asked students to pledge their dedication to a better future by signing an "I Will Complete High School” commitment card as freshmen or sophomores.  Upon completion of high school, these students were rewarded with a room full of graduation gifts, including a newly refurbished computer, in the hopes that by contributing functional representations of the student’s achievements, we can reinforce their commitment to growing academically and socially.

To read the press release click here.

As part of the Expectation Graduation project, TECH CORPS Texas provided refurbished desktop computers to students who finished their commitment and graduated.  “I’m so grateful for this computer. If I had to the power or the money to give away things like this, I would give it all away, because it helps that much,” says Selena Sanchez. TECH CORPS Texas recognizes these student’s hard work and ultimate success within the Expectation Graduation program, and seeks to encourage and maintain high academic standards for ALL of HISD by campaigning for student’s return to the classroom, and providing the additional support needed to keep them there. Students like Selena deserve the opportunity to live out their dreams, and in doing so, will simultaneously inspire those around them to do the same.  We hope to continue this positive trend, by providing much needed access to technology, which we believe will make life easier for generations of future students to come.

Meet Alisha, a young woman with an inspiring passion to master the universe of learning! She’s seventeen, and begins her senior year this fall at Alief Taylor High School. Before school starts, however, Alisha will be completing two semesters of online AP English 4 classes, and spending a couple of weeks shadowing two surgeons to get a feel for the world of medicine she hopes to enter after college.

We met Alisha through Posey Parker, Executive Director of the Linda Lorelle Scholarship Foundation, who called one day, anxious and very excited to tell us about a deserving young scholar’s need for a computer. While interviewing Alicia for the Lorelle scholarship, Parker had learned that Alicia was enrolled in two simultaneous online classes and desperately needed a laptop to continue her studies outside of school library hours. Knowing that one of the strategic legs of achieving the TECH CORPS Texas vision is to increase the number of children that have access to computers at home, Parker, like many of our collaborative partners, provided us with an opportunity to do what we do best – put a refurbished computer back to work in the hands of a deserving student.