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Steven Aguilar
UT Brownsville
Steven Aguilar
Brownsville, TX
Graduate Student, Criminal Justice Major, at UT Brownsville
Financial Sources
Job: Lead Mentor for Follow My Lead Mentor Program
Financial Aid & Scholarships: Scholarship towards Achieving and Reaching Success, Texas South most College Endowment Scholarship, Montgomery G I Bill, and the College Army Fund, Federal Pell Grant, TEXAS (Towards Excellence, Access and Success Program)
Steven's Story
As a youth in the Mexican school system, Steven Aguilar never thought an education at an American college was an option for him, even though he was born in the United States.
After spending his first eight years in Mexico before moving back to the United States and graduating from Brownsville’s Porter High School, Aguilar served as an Army Airborne Ranger. It was a stepping stone to his long-term goal of getting a college education – one he was determined to pursue.
“A university education did not seem to be an option for me upon graduating from high school, being that I come from such an impoverished background,” Aguilar recalled. “My mother works as a home healthcare provider and my father is retired -- but the reason I was able to become a leader, obtain a bachelor’s degree, and help students today is because of financial aid.”
Because of the scholarships Aguilar was granted, he will owe less than $20,000 for his education.
Now, Aguilar is the lead mentor for two UTB/TSC grant programs, Start Smart Start Early and Follow My Lead. And he’s using his own college experiences with financial aid as a tool to help other students get a leg up on their college educations.
“In essence we are giving them the opportunity to come to school,” he said.
Learn More:
UT Brownsville Admission | UT Brownsville Tuition |UT Brownsville Financial Aid