Officials with SA Worx, the workforce development arm of the economic development organization greater:SATX, said Oct. 11 they are rolling out a new Alamo Fellows program designed to help improve talent retention across the San Antonio area.
A news release said Alamo Fellows aims to increase community, career and social connections for first-generation college students with the goal of urging talented college graduates to build their careers in San Antonio.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 40% of students entering college in the U.S. are first generation. In San Antonio, colleges and universities serve more first-generation students than any other metropolitan U.S. area, the release said.
Romanita Matta-Barrera, chief workforce officer of greater:SATX, said many first-generation students navigate their educational journeys with less access to resources than their peers from generations of college-goers.
“First-generation students demonstrate high levels of grit and resilience in navigating new opportunities and institutions. This is the type of competitive workforce we need to stay here, develop amazing careers and build our future companies,” Matta-Barrera said in a statement.
According to the release, greater:SATX used a competitive application process to select the first cohort of 24 students pursuing STEM—science, technology, engineering and math—degrees to participate in the two-year program.
The Alamo Fellows represent all of San Antonio’s four-year universities, including Our Lady of the Lake University, St. Mary’s University, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Trinity University, The University of the Incarnate Word, and The University of Texas at San Antonio, the release said.
The release said, through the program, fellows will be connected to paid internships with local employers and nonprofits to enhance their professional skills and community involvement.
Representatives of greater:SATX said the program will also facilitate professional networking interactions outside their college communities to bolster the Alamo Fellows’s networks in the San Antonio area. A recent study by Opportunity Insights found that the strength of our social networks plays a key role in upward economic mobility, the release said.
Representatives of greater:SATX said Bank of America, among other partners, is providing significant support for the Alamo Fellows program.
San Antonio President Ventura Perez said the Alamo Fellows program opens doors for first-generation students to boost their resumes and experiences while ushering in a healthy workforce for the future of San Antonio.
“This new partnership with SA Worx builds upon our longtime support of the organization's youth summer internship program, and we are excited to continue to work together to offer innovative solutions to ensure San Antonio students have the opportunity to build careers in our city,” Perez said in a statement.
Local company SWBC is providing additional in-kind support via its SWBCU platform, which will help students access professional development modules and materials from which SWBC’s clients benefit on a daily basis.
“We’re honored to provide Alamo Fellows with access to tools needed to develop professionally,” said Deborah Gray Marino, SWBC senior vice president of corporate relations.
