Project overview
Building on Huston-Tillotson University’s partnership with My Brother’s Keeper (MBK), the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is funding efforts to help 1,000 young men of color in Central Texas enroll and complete college through the MBK Scholars program.
The program builds relationships with leaders from the Austin, Elgin, and Pflugerville school districts and offers customized coaching to students. Through this outreach, they hope to create a more direct pathway from high school to college and career for students across the region. By creating systemic change and supporting current scholars, the program helps Black and Latino male students from low-income backgrounds gain access to quality educational opportunities and become ready for college and a career.
How it helps
According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Black and Latino men from low-income backgrounds have the lowest post-secondary graduation rates in the state. We need to address this gap in our community, because earning a degree or credential after high school opens the door to more opportunities that can break the cycle of poverty.
In fact, people with a college degree earn an average of one million more dollars in their lifetime than those without one. With 54 percent lower unemployment rates, college graduates also experience greater career stability.
To create these outcomes, the My Brother’s Keeper program provides participating students with college and career advising, social and emotional support, academic intervention, and mentoring from their junior year of high school to college graduation. This guidance during the application journey, transition to college, and beyond plays a key role in scholars’ success.
