My Nonprofit Reviews

Adan Gonzalez attended the Avance Dallas program as a toddler with his mom the first year we offered our program in 1996–1997. Today, he is a portrait of the best of students in our city. And he says it all started with AVANCE-Dallas.

Growing up in South Oak Cliff, one of the toughest neighborhoods in Dallas, Adan encountered serious challenges from his earliest years. Not only did he face the danger of street violence, but also endured the barrage of financial blows on his family.

But while these conditions most often trap kids in an economic and educational slump, Adan has emerged as a successful, up-and-coming star. How did he overcome these hurdles? His parents made a lasting impact on him and shaped his outlook on life—a central message instilled from our Parent-Child Program. His father’s work ethic inspired him, and his mother devoted herself to nurturing strong family and educational values in her children.

And the payoff is visible today. In 2011 Adan graduated as salutatorian and senior class president at W. H. Adamson High School, president of the Dallas ISD Teen School Board, chapter president of Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), team captain of both his varsity soccer and cross country teams, 2011 Dallas Student of the Year, 2011 Junior Achievement of Dallas Student of the Year—and the list goes on. He has received numerous awards totaling over a million dollars in scholarships. He’s also a member of the USA National Collegiate Boxing Team, and he won both the 2008 Golden Gloves Boxing Regional Championship and the 2009 Dallas Golden Gloves tournament.

Today, Adan is a Junior at Georgetown University, and he is double-majoring in government and economics with a minor education, inquiry and justice. He aspires to make his family proud, to make a difference in the world, and one day to become the governor of Texas.

Adan is an inspiration to all who know him personally—and to many who don’t. He exhibits the greatest potential of what can come out of our early intervention program that equips parents to stick with it and get engaged in their children’s lives from cradle to college. Adan’s story shows that AVANCE-Dallas takes children heading toward poverty, delinquency, and crime and launches them to school and life success.

More Feedback