Anonymous donor covers tuition, books for grads of one Houston ISD high school

An anonymous donor has pledged to cover a semester’s worth of college tuition and textbooks for Liberty High School’s most recent graduates, the Houston Independent School District announced Sunday. The 46 graduates in the Sharpstown campus’ Class of 2022 will receive scholarships to cover their first semester at the college or trade school of their choice, said Chau Nguyen, a former KHOU-TV anchor who helped organize the donation. Nguyen, now the chief public strategist for the Houston Area Women’s Center, surprised the graduates with news of the donation during her keynote speech at Saturday’s commencement ceremony. The former anchor and the donor — a friend of Nguyen’s who wished to remain anonymous — kept their plans secret until the big reveal. Sitting in the audience, graduate Nathalia Estrada at first didn’t know whether to believe what she was hearing. Accepted to study psychology at the University of Houston in the fall, Estrada had recently drafted a letter to the college’s financial aid department seeking assistance due to an illness in her immediate family. We want to foster conversation and highlight the intersection of race, identity and culture in one of America's most diverse cities. Sign up for the HouWeAre newsletter here. “It was like a chorus of angels offering a solution,” Estrada said of the moment she heard Nguyen’s news. The 19-year-old, who moved to Houston from Masatepe, Nicaragua three years ago, intends to follow a pre-medicine track with the hope of becoming a psychiatrist. While her plans are fixed, she said many of her fellow graduates’ were not planning to go to college due to lack of funds — until Saturday. “I was just speechless,” Liberty Principal Mónico Rivas said of the announcement. Nguyen had tipped off Rivas two days ahead of the ceremony, but the principal “still was not 100 percent sure” what would happen during the speech. She began by telling the story of her family’s fraught journey as refugees from Vietnam — and then she told the audience of the anonymous donor’s largess. “I could see their smiles, their eyes widen,” Rivas said. “The students were super surprised.” - 'A political circus': Texas education board bracing for showdown over social studies curriculum - HISD board unanimously passes teacher raises in approving roughly $2.2 billion budget - After years of scraping by to teach young musicians, Waltrip band director says goodbye to HISD - As Houston’s school year comes to end, parents and students grapple with anxiety from Uvalde - Schools to check exterior doors, beef up security under order from Abbott to TEA As principal of the alternative high school, which offers both day and night classes, Rivas has seen the dedication his students apply to their studies. The campus was the first of its type in Texas when it opened in 2007 as Newcomer Charter High School to cater to newly arrived immigrants who often balance full-time work and family responsibilities. More than 90 percent of its students are Latino. The scholarships will enable many of the recent graduates to begin post-secondary education immediately, Rivas said, rather than delaying to save money. Research shows students who transition to college without interruption are more likely to stick with it. About 70 percent will enroll in community college, he said, while another 10 percent are headed for trade school. While Rivas and Nguyen are still finalizing the donation, both said Sunday the scholarships come with no strings attached. “We hope this can be a head start to their college path, because it is expensive and people are facing challenges,” Nguyen said. “They’re working, they’re mothers, they’re helping provide for their families.” As the child of Vietnamese refugees, Nguyen understands the hardships many recent immigrants face while adjusting to life in Houston. She said she hopes her own unlikely path to success would inspire the graduates to think big. “When I was really young, my parents struggled like many of these kids who are new to America, living in poverty and trying to make ends meet,” Nguyen said. “So I shared some of those stories during the speech to let them know that they’re not alone, and their dreams can happen.” Nguyen anchored KHOU’s morning news show until 2007. She earned a master’s degree in social work and became a counselor before joining the staff of the Houston Area Women’s Center, a nonprofit focusing on domestic and sexual violence. nora.mishanec@chron.com

Anonymous donor covers tuition, books for grads of one Houston ISD high school

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