 Imagine driving down a darkened street without a beacon of light when you suddenly approach a fork in the road.
You immediately halt as fear and confusion dominate your emotions. You now have three options. You can travel down the road to the right, the road to the left, or take your keys out of the ignition and wait and go nowhere. Before you decide on your course of action, you suddenly realize that you have a map in your glove compartment. This was me my junior year in high school faced with the options of going to college, getting a job out of high school or not finishing high school to help with family finances. During this difficult time in my life, I was glad that I had a “map” called the University Outreach Center (UOC) program. The UOC program enabled me to make an educated decision by providing me with the necessary tools to evaluate my choices. The UOC counselors helped me to prepare for my SAT, research colleges (Longhorn Round-Up) research majors, and find scholarships and other financial aid.
Due to the personal assistance I received from the UOC program, I realized the necessity of having a high school diploma as well as the benefits of going to college. I graduated Salutatorian of my high school class and continued my higher education at the University of Texas. I received my Bachelor Business Administration with honors in Management Information Systems. I am currently working as a technology consultant for IBM. I appreciated the UOC program so much that it was truly an honor to work as the 2004 Jumpstart Coordinator to help middle school students evaluate their decisions in the mist of their crossroads. My experience with the UOC counselors, as well as my personal experience of being part of the UOC staff, can best be described in the following quote.
“The object is not to see through one another, but to see one another through.”
by Peter Devries
Tasha Pernell
Skyline Development Center (High School)
Class of 2000
University of Texas
Bachelor of Business Administration
Class of 2004
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