I am an educator, author, and entrepreneur from Pharr, Texas. Throughout my 12 years of experience in K-12 and higher education, I have taught in the classroom and spearheaded programs focused on college readiness and family engagement. I grew up in a single-parent household. Through many financial hardships, my mother and I persevered by believing there was a brighter future we could work toward. My mother believed the pathway out of poverty was education, so she instilled in me a passion for learning at a young age. Despite being a first-generation college student who struggled during the college application process, I worked hard to get accepted into Princeton University on a full-ride financial aid package. After graduating from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo (PSJA) North High School in 2012 as class valedictorian, I felt a strong desire to give back to my community. I didn't want to wait until after Princeton to make a difference. After meeting with PSJA ISD administrators, I founded the College Scholarship Leadership Access Program (CSLAP) at age 19. CSLAP offers courses on college essay writing, financial aid, and leadership development for high school students. Through CSLAP’s near-peer mentor initiatives, I have provided high school graduates a platform to give back to their schools by providing guidance and support on the college application process. Every summer, I returned to Pharr to host CSLAP summer institutes for high school students. These summer institutes inspired me to choose teaching as my first job after college, as well as my experiences interning as a teaching assistant at PSJA ISD's Parent Engagement Program and the Princeton University Preparatory Program. As a high school teacher, I developed and taught lessons on critical writing, college readiness, and service learning. Aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), these lesson plans continue to form CSLAP’s curriculum. After incorporating CSLAP as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, I served as executive director. Under my leadership, CSLAP introduced scholarship programs, expanded mentorship initiatives, partnered with community groups like ARISE Adelante, and launched a five-figure community aid fund during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, I joined the board of directors as chairman. As of 2025, CSLAP has directly impacted more than 2,000 students. Currently, I am an English professor at South Texas College, where I teach both dual enrollment high schoolers and adult learners. As a college professor, I provide my students the guidance I once needed as a first-generation college student from a single-parent household. As an undergraduate at Princeton University, I co-founded the Princeton Hidden Minority Council, which advocated for services for first-generation and low-income students. I also wrote blogs for prospective students through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Through the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, I received mentorship on becoming a leader in higher education and advocating for the humanities. I earned my first master’s degree in English from UCLA, where I concentrated in writing pedagogy and composition. At UCLA, I taught courses in composition, literature, and creative writing. I was also a member of the Excellence in Pedagogy and Innovative Classrooms initiative, where I enrolled in the "Community Learning Seminar in Teaching and Excellence," where I produced instructional materials for the university's service learning courses. In 2023, I earned my second master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from UTRGV. Beyond the classroom, I write and publish books about South Texas. I am the author of the award-winning book The River Runs: Stories and co-author of El Curso de la Raza, a historical memoir of the South Texas Chicano Movement. In 2024, I co-founded an independent publishing press, Beyond Borders Books, dedicated to publishing authors from border communities.
