Community sponsors donated the school and dorm supplies. Every girl also received a laptop from Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, a regional bottling company.<\/p>\n
Loredo, a graduate of Fort Worth ISD\u2019s Eastern Hills High School, will attend Tarrant County College in the fall to study accounting. She plans to eventually transfer to Texas Christian University to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n
BNSF Railway sponsored Loredo. JennieAnn Blair, audit director for BNSF, said she coordinates the railway\u2019s participation in the shower. BNSF first became involved with Girls Inc. in 2016.<\/p>\n
Blair attended the shower and met Lordeo and her parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s probably my favorite part, not just the students but their parents, seeing the excitement and joy on their faces of kind of going through the celebration with these recently graduated seniors,\u201d Blair said.<\/p>\n
Valerie Salter, director of donor engagement for Girls Inc., said sponsors choose their recipients from biographies given to them about the participating girls at a kickoff event. Some choose a recipient because of a connection to the school the girl will attend or her chosen field of study.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Loredo stood out to Blair because of her interest in the accounting field, the audit director said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, being an (auditor), that\u2019s always really exciting,\u201d Blair said. \u201cI really love to see especially women going into those harder accounting financial roles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Girls Inc. helps shower participants write a wishlist before the event, including first-generation students who may not be familiar with what a college student needs, Salter said. She added that sponsors sometimes even go beyond the list.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just go overboard many times in making sure that the girls are just equipped, and we refer to it as leveling the playing field so our girls arrive on campus prepared with all the dorm essentials and school supplies if they are living local,\u201d Salter said. \u201cAll they have to do is just focus on their studies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mackenzie Shores, 18, will be attending Texas Christian University in the fall to study nursing. She received a rug, cleaning supplies, bedding, clothes hangers, school supplies and a clear bag to take to sporting events from the school as her sponsor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a really amazing event,\u201d Shores said. \u201cIt was really nice to see all the people, all the support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loredo echoed this sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the first generation going to college, so I think that really helped me, and that would probably have helped other girls, being able to be part of College Shower and being able to go to college,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Tarrant County College enrolled 8,381 first-generation students last fall, according to data provided by the school. Salter said many of the girls who participated in the shower will be the first in their families to attend college.<\/p>\n
Both Loredo and Shores are excited for the fall. Loredo said she is looking forward to diving into academics the most.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m mostly excited just to attend classes, do my homework, being able to say that I will be graduating from college soon and being able to have a bachelor\u2019s degree soon, too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Shores is most excited about getting involved in campus life.<\/p>\n
\u201cTCU is really known for their school spirit, so I\u2019m really excited for games and just all the activities that they have,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
McKinnon Rice is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n
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