My name is Da’Keona Jones, an Austin native through and through. I am a proud first-generation college graduate from Texas State University. I’m here to tell you how Breakthrough shined the light on doors my family and I had yet to discover.
A bit about me: I have 2 brothers, 1 sister, and a mother who played no games. I was a loud, proud, and expressive child. My mom has always been my biggest supporter who made sure we stayed focused. She didn’t just say “dream big” — she prays for you and then makes sure you’re equipped to do something about it.
Every summer felt the same. Until one day my mom was like “Yall not sitting in this house all summer. You need to find something to do.”
That’s when I first heard about Breakthrough. They came to my elementary school in Manor, talking about this summer program that was supposed to be “cool” and “interactive.” To be honest, as a fifth grader, I wasn’t all there — but I was listening and I remember thinking, “Okay, sounds fun… for somebody else.” Because I definitely wasn’t trying to go back to school in the summer.
Despite my initial thoughts, I showed up for that first summer at Breakthrough. Here I was a fresh middle schooler trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe it was seeing all these new students across Manor ISD who wanted to go to college just like me, but something just clicked.
Maybe it was English class and I remember my teacher Ms. Katie encouraging me in my writing . At the time I was over all her critical questions about my story – like what about this character, and their backstory. Truth is she
Had helped me find my love for storytelling. My masterpiece was about a girl named Promise. My mom still has that story to this day.
I also learned a lot in all my other classes – math, science, social studies, and really found how to directly and clearly express my voice. Breakthrough showed me what education could be and that I could create something powerful with clear guidance. Breakthrough was like PBS Kids, you know, keeping you entertained while mom’s at work but low key great educational learning!
After all the help I got from Breakthrough in my middle school summers and during the school year, I was set up for success. At Manor Senior High School, the classes felt like light work. I even received my associates degree before even graduating high school because I was taking dual credit classes at ACC, for free.
Breakthrough didn’t just give me a checklist — they gave me a guide, a plan, a hand, and the confidence to follow through. I applied to over ten colleges and got accepted to several — UT, Texas State, UNT, UTSA, St. Edward’s and more. But in the end, I chose Texas State. Breakthrough literally held my hand through it all.
Even in college, Breakthrough was still showing me doors. It wasn’t easy.
Coming from a home packed with personality to an empty dorm room was challenging in many ways. Like many others, being away from home for the first time was uncomfortable but for me this was different. I left what I knew to be home to be surrounded by complete strangers. I felt the pressures of being alone and having doubts about where I was going.
Being at Texas State took a toll on me … has anyone else here walked up the hills and stairs of Texas State everyday? Come back to me when you do – It’s a climb. Not to get too metaphorical, but it’s hard! I’d struggle up the hill to the Alkek Library to meet my advisor Claudia just to greet her out of breath.
I can’t tell you how helpful Breakthrough was for me. It wasn’t just the scholarships that created a full ride to college, internships that led to a career, or the strong connections built along the way that made me appreciate Breakthrough the most. It was that they were truly like family, they were my second biggest cheerleader – obviously my mommy is #1, but Breakthrough has always been right there for me.
I kept opening different doors, starting as a major in biology, then psychology. I kept going, one step at a time. I started building my resume. It’s now so good I call it my “sexy resume” — yes, I said sexy — because it’s that good! I earned my first paid internship through Breakthrough at the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, researching mental health challenges first-gen students face today. My second Breakthrough internship was at Accenture, learning about how to speak the language of the business and project management. I did research, wrote proposals and opened clinics – all of that before I even turned 21.
Just three years after high school—I walked the stage at Texas State University, earning my B.A. in Psychology and becoming the first in my family, four generations strong in Austin, to graduate from college. Debt free might I add.
I’m now proud to say I have a career in a field I didn’t even know existed growing up – I am a SAP Enterprise Resource Consultant at Accenture. Tell me that’s not amazing?
Breakthrough is the reason I’m equipped to walk into every opportunity with confidence and clarity. Breakthrough is a guide to show you the door of opportunity in life, not only how to find the door, but how to work the doorknob, which key to use, swing it wide open and step through.
It’s helped my entire family – my brother is a Breakthrough grad and my mom even went back to school. She’s now on her way to becoming a registered nurse. So when I hear that Breakthrough is expanding to serve 3,000 more students through its Pathways to Opportunity Campaign, I just think — that’s transformational. Because this program doesn’t just change individual lives — it changes an entire family forever.
