At Southwest Airlines, we consider ourselves much more than just a business; we are a neighbor in the communities we serve and live. We are proud to be involved in the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD)’s cohort of collegiate academies—part of the district’s collegiate academy expansion with the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD).
Specifically, we’re excited to be involved with North Dallas High School in our hometown. North Dallas High School is one of 10 new collegiate academies that will launch next school year. Students who attend collegiate academies can earn up to 60 hours of college credit or an associate degree–at no cost to them–while earning a high school diploma.
Our Campus Reach Team has a mission to build the talent pipeline of the future by engaging, inspiring, and developing students at all levels to pursue careers in aviation and Southwest Airlines, and these efforts are naturally in alignment with Dallas ISD’s focus on providing the career pathway and courses to prepare successful candidates for today’s workforce.
To learn more, visit www.dallasisd.org/collegiateacademies, or read on to learn more about the program’s potential impact on one student, Alberto Rodriguez (pictured below, on the right):
There are two main opportunities that come with being in the North Dallas Collegiate Academy
that I’m particularly focused on. The first reason is that the two years of college I get in the collegiate academy can prepare me for the following years of college or a university. And the other reason is that I want to graduate from college the same year my older sister does.
I hope that out of this academy I will learn to be more effective in school than what I am at the moment. The partnership with Southwest Airlines can get me recognized and can make it easier for me to get accepted into a university of my choice. The partnership could ultimately help me be someone big.
I’d like to become a person someone looks up to, a role model. Being the person my parents dream for me to be would be the best reward. I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for the sacrifices my parents have made for me. I believe that my success comes from them.