CROSSROADS
Scholars Program
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS FACILITATING COLLEGE SUCCESS!
Our Story
Alex Torres was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. when he was nine. He had to overcome multiple challenges growing up. He came from from a numerous underprivileged family of nine children and once he moved to Texas, he had to learn the language and adjust to the culture. Upon graduating from high school, he had a great deal of difficulty navigating all the barriers and challenges associated with being a first generation college student from an immigrant family. Although his parents were supportive of his educational aspirations, they had no first hand knowledge nor the resources to assist him. As a result, it took him "more than six years to do what should have been done in four." "Every time I thought I had it figured it, there always seemed to be another obstacle that kept deflating my efforts. I thought about dropping out almost every year and actually quit twice before finally completing my first undergrad degree." Mr. Torres has worked in public education with the most troubled schools and underserved populations for over fifteen years. This experience has added to his first hand understanding of the roots of cyclical poverty and the first-generation college experience. "Working with hundreds of students for years, trying to get them to graduate high school and then watching them fail to complete any educational aspirations beyond that was incredibly frustrating. They would simply repeat the cycle." "It's not that the resources aren't there, I know they are, I used them; but they don't have the knowledge to access them.
Alex Torres
Executive Director / Founder
They also have a tremendous need for socio-emotional support since in many ways, they lack the cultural expectations necessary to see those aspirations through." After all of those years working as a teacher, coach and school administrator Mr. Torres finally decided in 2007 that it was time to start coming up with a more holistic and impactful approach toward solving the problem. He dedicated time to doing some preliminary research from 2007-2009 and came up with the idea of Crossroads Scholarship Fund. After vetting his ideas with several influential community members, he found a team of highly motivated and talented leaders that understood the vision and assembled the founding board. In April of 2010, Crossroads Scholarship Fund was officially formed and gave out it's first set of scholarships that fall.
OUR FOUNDING BOARD
The formation of Crossroads Scholarship Fund would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the founding board members who understood and shared our unique vision. Their ideas and contributions were critical to the long term success and the lasting impact of our unique organization.
Janette Rodriguez (Miller)
Served from 2009-2012
Stefan Molina
Served from 2009-2011
Melissa Martinez
Served from 2009-2013
Dr. Enrique Romo
Served from 2009-2012