One of the Naveen Jindal School of Management’s critical priorities is increasing access to college for outstanding high schoolers by providing need-based scholarships. One avenue for meeting this need is New Dimensions, a fundraising campaign launched by The University of Texas at Dallas in 2021 to raise $750 million.

“The Jindal School has launched thousands of first-generation students into successful careers,” said Dr. Hasan Pirkul, Caruth Chair and dean of the Jindal School. “While at the Jindal School, these graduates had leadership training, were taught by top research professors and learned in a climate of broad diversity and inclusiveness. These graduates are, quite frankly, the professionals that corporations hunger for when they are hiring.”

The Jindal Young Scholars Program, which Pirkul launched in 2018, provides select high schoolers from Dallas Independent School District with full tuition, room and board for four years. The program is singular at UT Dallas. In addition to comprehensive financial support, it also provides participants with a collegiate advisor who keeps the students on track and encourages them to engage with student clubs and participate in campus activities. Students are involved in everything from University Theatre to the Professional Program in Accounting.

All 22 Jindal Young Scholars students graduated from one of five partner Dallas ISD high schools. Julio Tovar, a JYSP junior earning a BS in Healthcare Management, is from H. Grady Spruce High School.

I have an internship at (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) and am beginning my career delivering medical goods,” he said. “One day, I plan to be CEO.”

Tovar’s gratitude for the JYSP program extended to gratefulness from his family.

“The donors’ generosity has given me an opportunity of a lifetime for my family and me,” he said.

Matthew Joseph Garcia, a JYSP freshman planning a career in business analytics, has his eyes on an internship with General Motors or with a real estate company.

“Growing up in the Oak Cliff area, there are not many opportunities to pursue a higher education because many families cannot afford college tuition,” said Garcia, graduate of Moisés E. Molina High School.

Jindal Young Scholars addresses several campuswide New Dimensions imperatives: to recruit the best students; guarantee a comprehensive approach to their success; and ensure they take part in a cutting-edge curriculum that has an inclusive outlook.

“The Jindal Young Scholars students are among the most talented in Texas and are working diligently to become the next generation of business leaders to succeed in a global marketplace,” said TaKeisha Busby, Jindal School’s assistant development director charged with growing the JYSP endowment. She said her work with JYSP is simply to empower donors to create their own legacy through giving.

“We want to make sure these outstanding students are supported and can afford the best education without financial barriers,” she said