Perry, TCC leaders, students launch state education website

By Shelly Williams/editor-in-chief

Gov. Rick Perry visits with Texas Woman’s University student Janet Gonzales as they walk through the Generation TX website Oct. 20.  Photo by Casey Holder/The Collegian
Gov. Rick Perry visits with Texas Woman’s University student Janet Gonzales as they walk through the Generation TX website Oct. 20. Photo by Casey Holder/The Collegian

Gov. Rick Perry and other state and local leaders gathered on South Campus Oct. 20 to help launch a social media website that clarifies the steps of going to college, from taking the right classes to applying to colleges and finding financial aid.

The website is part of a statewide movement called Generation TX aimed at encouraging and informing students that no matter their circumstance, they can have a higher education.

“Generation TX is inspiring young Texans and marking out a path for them to follow,” Perry said. “Students can become part of a community that is guided by their aspirations.”

He said the website, GenTX.org, will use the strengths of social media to help guide students to resources they need to succeed.

“To me, Generation TX represents what is truly great about our state,” he said. “Here in Texas, it doesn’t matter where you live, how big your school is or how your last name is spelled. It’s about opportunity and making opportunity available to everyone.”

Currently, a student who has only a high school diploma will make an average of $31,000 a year while a student with a bachelor’s degree can make an average of $56,000 a year or more, Perry said.

Generation TX and those who use the website can inspire those who may never have considered higher education as a part of their future, he said.

State Sen. Wendy Davis, who graduated from TCC, said she was a perfect example of someone the Generation TX movement was targeting.

Married, divorced and a single mom by the time she was 19, Davis said she wished there had been something like this during her college years.

She said she felt lost and didn’t know what steps to take to get involved in college at first but decided she wanted to set an example and do something for herself to make her and her family’s lives better.

“My goal and Generation TX’s goal is to make sure that those children who are the childhood version of me have someone who can help them understand that college belongs to them and they have the power to make a real difference in their own lives.”

South student Amanda Western, who shared her story with the audience at the event, said she and Davis had a similar past.

A second-year student at TCC, Western works, attends class and takes care of her 2-year-old daughter as a single mother.

She is also the first to attend college in her family.

“I thought it was incredibly important for me to set an example for my daughter and show her firsthand how education can transform your life,” she said.

Western said she is on her way to becoming a teacher and wants to be an example for the Generation TX movement.

“I want to use my experience to show how important education is to children,” she said.