Meet Alverto, Breakthrough College Graduate
“To me, Breakthrough means family.”
Name: Alverto Perez
Location: San Antonio, TX
College: Austin Community College, 2013, University of Texas, 2017
Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting
Current job: Corporate Accountant — Associate Accountant at Andeavor
What was your college journey like?
Ever since I was 8 or 9 years old attending the University of Texas was my dream. But when it came time to apply, I didn’t have the grades to get in. My Breakthrough advisor and I went back and forth and eventually I decided to attend Austin Community College and transfer to UT. After two years at ACC, I had a 3.9 GPA, was in an honor society, and had learned all the skills that I
needed to be successful in college. I applied and was accepted into UT and eventually transferred into the McCombs School of Business, one of the best business schools in the nation! One of my first classes at UT was in the same room that we did our morning cheers when I was a Breakthrough middle schooler. To me, that felt like a sign that I was where I always was meant to be. My path to a college degree was a long process but when I look down at my hand and see my class ring it truly feels like a dream come true.
How did you land your current job and what are you career goals?
In college, I interned at Andeavor twice and when I graduated they offered me a full-time job. In the next few years I hope to add a few more letters behind my name by getting both my CPA certification and an MBA. This
career path that I have chosen will help me and my family become more financially stable and bring us greater financial growth.
What does a college degree mean to you and your family?
It is a great sense of pride for my entire family. When I graduated from college my family took up two whole full rows in the auditorium. My mom likes to say when I graduated it is like she did too. She tells me stories about how she had to rely on the Salvation Army for food and clothes growing up and that her family’s living room had to double as a bedroom. But now, my graduation picture and diploma hang on her living room wall. My college degree is a reminder that all of the sacrifices that my family made was for something greater.