Busy Month at College Forward Houston!

Lee High School Graduation on the football field!

It has been an EXTREMELY busy month at College Forward Houston. Let's start with Lee High School graduation. On Friday, June 8th Lee High School seniors walked across the stage to receive their high school diploma. Coach Christi and Melba were extremely proud to watch their 45 students transform from a high school senior into a college bound student. Congrats Lee Seniors!!



Students participating in an ice breaker Texas A&M-College Station



Some of the CoFo juniors posing in front of the Sam Houston statue!

CoFo juniors at the University of Texas at San Antonio!

Next up was the College Forward Houston Road Trip! It was three days and two nights of visiting six schools around Texas with a wonderful group of CoFo junior students. Thank you Texas A&M- College Station, Sam Houston State University, University of Incarnate Word, University of Texas San Antonio, Texas State University- San Marcos, and Texas Lutheran University! Enjoy the pics above:

Astros game at Minute Maid Park

Next up was the Astros game on June 22nd! College Forward coaches and junior students got to watch the Astros battle the Kansas City Royals. And tonight CoFo coaches and their senior students get to watch the Astros take down the San Diego Padres! Overall, it has been a busy month and there are even more events to come!

Coach Profile- Dustin Duncan

Coach Dustin "owling"

• Where are you originally from?
• I am from Chicago, Illinois! 3-1-2 you guys! Chi-town forever!
• Where did you graduate from? What did you major in?
• I graduated from University of Illinois where I majored in Political Science.
• What brought you to College Forward?
• I wanted to have the chance to help students who were similar to my background. I am a first-generation college student and I know firsthand the challenges I faced when I was applying to college.
• What is your favorite thing about working here?
• I love the environment we work in. We have a lot of freedom in the office to construct our own class plans and the students that we work with give us the respect that we need to be able to facilitate a class.
• If you could describe College Forward in 5 words, what would they be?
• Energetic, Tiring, Worthwhile, Inspiring, Goal-oriented
• What has been your biggest accomplishment at College Forward thus far?
• I think it would have to be my ACT prep with my class that paid off. A lot of my students improved significantly from their ACT Diagnostic to the actual ACT test.
• What is your favorite thing about living in Houston?
• I live in the Montrose area and so I have access to a bunch of parks, museums, and restaurants. So I mainly love my locations, because as a native Chicagoan- I love to walk everywhere.
• What is your favorite food?
• I love steak. And I make it in my apartment. And I get it from Kroger.
• What kind of music do you listen to?
• I can listen to anything except classical. What I'm currently listening to right now- as my coworkers can hear through my headphones- is Drake. He's my homie.
• What is your favorite place to go in Houston?
• Hermann Park. GTL! Or more like GLT. I like to gym it, laundry it up, and then tan.
• Do you have any talents or hobbies?
• I have extremely stretchy skin (seriously I need to see a doctor) and I can do insane back flips as I tumbled as a kid!
• And last but not least- what advice would you give to future coaches?
• Make sure you dedicate time getting to know your students. Because you'll be surprised to find out how much of a force you'll be to them during their school year.

Eisenhower Graduation

It was their proudest moment of their CoFo year, for Eisenhower Senior Coaches- Xenia, Natalie and Jess...because on June 2nd the IKE kiddos graduated!!!!!! Congrats to the class of 2012!!!!! Enjoy the pictures:

Future Aggie Christina Franklin & Boston University bound Dekoiya Burton

Jazwau Goudeau and Inice Warren

Kianni Guemez- Ms. Future Longhorn

Coach Xenia and Sam Houston bound student- Cindy Lopez

Program Manager Becky Fowler and Frida Bravo

Coach Xenia with the Gibson family

Duc Nguyen, Coach Natalie, Saira, and Coach Jessica

End of Year Ceremony

Before the start of the End of Year Ceremony



College Forward Houston annually hosts the End of Year Ceremony. It is a ceremony dedicated to recognizing the achievements of CoFo kids! This year it was at the University of Houston and both students and coaches had a blast!

Opening Ceremony crew: Vy Nguyen, Crystal Harris, & Erik Cavazos with his band mate

The End of Year Celebration started off with an Opening Ceremony. Ms. Crystal Harris performed the National Anthem, afterwards Eisenhower student Vy Nguyen performed "Hero" by Mariah Carey, and lastly Erik Cavazos performed a cover of "King" by Weezer.

Motivational speaker: Brian Rice

After the Opening Ceremony, College Forward had the pleasure of having Mr. Brian Rice give a motivational speech for the students and family. Mr. Rice is the author of three self-help books and is the President and Founder of the non-profit organization, Heroes Bridge, Inc. Thank you Mr. Rice for donating your time and your words for our event!

Coach Trey with his top three kids

Next, the coaches were able to recognize the top three students from each class in the Junior/Senior Awards. Here is the order from the ceremony:

Coach Ken

Aldair Torres- Best All Around Student

Jocelyn Mendoza- Scholastic Scholar Award

Erik Cavazos- Most Outstanding Student 

Coach Qiji

Ravo Scott- Most Community Service

Jennifer Acosta- Perfect Attendance

Astrid Ibarra- Most Outstanding Student

Coach Christi

Kaitlen Turner- Most Ambitious Student

Windy Shelton- Most College Acceptances

Edgar Bejar- Most Outstanding Student

Coach Melba

Dorchelle Greene- Best Personality Award

Sergio Reynaga- Most College Acceptances

Jameka Richards- Most Outstanding Student

Coach Teanna

Dominic Brown- Most Likely to Become an Entrepreneur

Somaly Taing- Most Community Service Hours

Darljane Sherman- Most Outstanding Student

Coach Trey

Luxjoria Thibodeaux- Most Focused

Yendri Longoria- Most Committed

Renell Henry- Most Outstanding

Coach Dustin

Sandra Montoya- Most Determined

Anna Cornejo- Most Improved

Melissa Escobar- Most Outstanding Student

Coach Xenia

Park Do- Best Future Google Employee Award

Carmen Parra- Best Writer and Best Personality

Nelson Romero- Most Outstanding Student

Coach Natalie

Duc Nguyen- Jackpot Award

Joseph Martin- Strong Soul Award

Dekoiya Burton- Most Outstanding Student

Coach Jessica

Roberto Pena- Highest Attendance Award

Andres Quiroz- Most Likely to be Famous

Armando Sajbin- Most Outstanding Student



Afterwards, it was the Senior Roll Call! It was the first senior class from College Forward Houston and so CoFo seniors were able to come up to the microphone and announce LOUD AND PROUD where they were going to school next year.

Overall, the Ceremony was a great success and a fun time for everyone! Thank you College Forward students for a wonderful year!