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VC nursing graduate overcame adversity, furthers education for a brighter future
May 05, 2023
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Beranda Williams, RN
While taking prerequisites for Victoria College's Associate Degree Nursing Program five years ago, Beranda Williams didn't know how she could stay in school.
"I was scatterbrained and feeling lost," she said. "I was working full time as a single mother and taking four classes at a time, plus a science lab.
"I didn't know if I was going to be able to afford everything. I had just separated from my husband, so I had to find a new place to stay without the income I was used to having. Bills were piling up."
Williams, a first-generation college student, found help in Victoria College's KEY Center, a TRIO Student Support Services Program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The KEY Center provides an academically enriching and supportive environment for low-income, disabled and first-generation college students.
"They were awesome to me — great, positive mentors," she said. "I was so negative coming in. It was like, 'I can't do it. It's too much for me. I am going to have to quit this.' Everything was a whirlwind at that point.
Williams is grateful for the impact that KEY Center Director Pam Neumann had on her.
"She's a wonderful, beautiful person," she said. "They were all like my therapists. After that, things started happening. I knew that I was on the right track, and I wasn't going to quit."
With the help of the KEY Center, Williams turned things around and completed her associate degree in May 2021. Two years later, she is now graduating with a Bachelor of Science in nursing from The University of Texas at Arlington.
She now works as a case manager at PAM Rehabilitation Hospital and as a traveling nurse for Regency Nursing Home in Victoria.
Being certified as a registered nurse (RN) opened the door to higher wages, but Williams initially got her foot in the door in 2012 after graduating from VC's Vocational Nursing Program and beginning to work as a licensed vocational nurse (LVN).
"Before I got married, I ran into a friend at a nursing home who told me that I should consider going with LVN certification because I am good with the older, geriatric group," she said. "I needed something quick, and you can get your Vocational Nursing Certificate in a year.
"I wanted to go into business, but I couldn't afford to get an associate or bachelor's degree at that time. I chose the Vocational Nursing Program. After that, I flourished."
After earning her bachelor’s degree, Williams plans to spend lots of quality time with her daughter, Malaya Ervin (8), before going back to college, but she is happy to have battled through adversity to come away with a solid education and a brighter future.
"My daughter says, 'Mom, just go do your homework,'" she said. "She's dealt with me through this for the last five years. I want to give back to her for all of the time I've spent in school. I owe her that."
However, that doesn't mean that Williams is necessarily done with her higher education journey.
"I am considering going back to school for a master's degree," she said. "I am undecided if I want to do healthcare administration or education. The whole goal is to get in with a job that will pay for it.
"I need to become a certified case manager. I want to add on as much as I can, like medical billing and coding so I can have endless opportunities."
Williams, who recently spoke at VC about her experiences with the KEY Center as a student, remains grateful for the staff's help in turning everything around for her.
"The women at the KEY Center supplied me with the assistance I needed to get through," she said. "Any time I came in and cried about money, they referred me to the Victoria College Foundation.
"They did anything they could do to help me so I wouldn't quit. They were positive mentors and people to get me to stay in school and give me every resource I could get. I appreciate having somebody who fought for me.
U.S. Department of Education Awards more than $4.6 Million to TCC over the Next Five Years to Help Low Income, Potential First-Generation College Students Access Higher Education 
TRIO Upward Bound will provide five years of funding to help 180 local students per year find their paths to college.
The U.S. Department of Education announced that Tarrant County College (TCC) will receive federal Upward Bound grant funding of more than $4.6 million over the next five years to help more low-income students from three Tarrant County high schools (O.D. Wyatt, South Hills, and Everman) who would be the first members of their families to earn degrees to prepare for and enroll in college. TCC South has hosted the Upward Bound Program continuously since 2003, serving more than 2,800 local high school students.
One of the federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound is an intensive intervention program that prepares students for higher education through various enrichment courses. At least two-thirds of the students in each local Upward Bound program are from low-income economic backgrounds and families in which neither parent has a bachelor’s degree.
Many Upward Bound alumni have gone on to great success, among them Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis, Correspondent for ABC News John Quiñones and Hall of Fame NBA player Patrick Ewing.
“I am ecstatic that TCCD will continue to impact the lives of young adults through the TRIO Upward Bound Programs – providing them with valuable services and helping them acquire the skills and motivation necessary to move into postsecondary education,” stated Trichele Davenport, TRIO Upward Bound director at TCC South.
Campus-based Upward Bound programs provide students instruction in literature, composition, mathematics, science and foreign language during the school year and the summer. Upward Bound also provides intensive mentoring and support for students as they prepare for college entrance exams and tackle admission applications, financial aid and scholarship forms.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 86% of Upward Bound participants enroll in postsecondary institutions immediately following high school graduation. In FY21, more than 70,000 students enrolled in 966 Upward Bound TRIO projects in the United States.
In 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act established Upward Bound as a pilot program in response to the War on Poverty. It was the first of seven federal “TRIO” programs to later be authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed in higher education. It recognizes that students whose parents do not have a college degree have more difficulties navigating the complexity of decisions that college requires for success, bolsters students from low-income families who have not had the academic opportunities that their college peers have had and helps remove obstacles preventing students from thriving academically.
“The TRIO Upward Bound Program has thrived at TCC South for nearly 20 years. Continued funding in support of the program will ensure that more high school students receive the support necessary to succeed in postsecondary education and beyond,” stated TCC Chancellor Elva LeBlanc.
“As systemic inequality and financial hardship discourage students from succeeding in college, TRIO programs like Upward Bound take on new importance because they continue to help students who are low-income and first-generation to earn college degrees,” said Maureen Hoyler, president of the non-profit Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) in Washington, D.C. COE is dedicated to furthering the expansion of college opportunities for low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities nationwide.
As of 2021, more than 3,000 TRIO projects serve approximately 855,000 participants yearly. TRIO projects are in every state and territory in the nation.
Source: Tarrant County College News, 2/1/2023 by Kendra Price
Edwin C. Serrano: Physical therapist helps others conquer pain
NOVEMBER 14, 2022
Edwin is CEO and owner of Positive Action Rehab & Performance.
Edwin began with the Upward Bound Math-Science Center at The University of Texas at Arlington (UT-Arlington) as a participant in 2005 and completed the TRIO pre-college program’s Bridge program in 2007 at UT-Arlington. Edwin has always diligently pursued a college education since joining the program.
Through this motivation, he graduated from Our Lady of the Lake University with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology in 2012 and received a doctoral degree in physical therapy from the University of Incarnate Word in 2015.
Edwin, who started as a tenth-grade high school student at Presidio High School in a small rural community near the Texas-Mexican border in West Texas, is a first-generation college student who initially desired to be an architect and give back to his community.
As a former Upward Bound Math-Science participant, Edwin always had the desire and fortitude to reach his academic goals, showing respect and courtesy to all staff and peers. Despite any challenges, he always maintained a sense of responsibility, leadership, and initiative in his work.
While being a program participant, Edwin developed himself, confidence, and a work ethic to promote his learning. He led by example, self-taught self-esteem skills and other essential know-how to succeed in college and life. Cunningly, he has used his knowledge and abilities to establish his own business providing needed treatment for others with his wife, also an alumnus of the program.