E@W and UTEP Celebrates Successful Partnership
Helping UTEP Students Earn Over $1 Million in Wages and Tuition Assistance
We were very excited to celebrate the successful one-year partnership with the University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP) and Discover Financial Services (DFS) this past week at UTEP’s campus and the Plaza Pioneer Park in El Paso, Texas.
Leadership and staff from Education at Work gathered together to not only celebrate how far we’ve come in the past year helping UTEP students, but how much more we can accomplish given the partnership between Education at Work, UTEP, and Discover will be expanding with the proven success of this collaboration. In the coming academic year, even more UTEP students will be able to gain valuable experience through part-time jobs with Discover, while earning money to offset the cost of college and graduate debt-free.
Participants and guests of last week’s festivities relished in the positive impact being made in the lives of UTEP students as they listened to valuable insights, inspirational stories, and were reminded why we partner with innovative businesses like Discover and universities like UTEP to realize our mission of helping high-achieving college students gain the career-ready skills and financial stability needed to succeed after graduation.
“The UTEP celebration marks a milestone that is evidence of EAW’s commitment to pursuing excellence, dedication to our mission, and the collective efforts of an exceptional team,” said Demetria Ingram, Education at Work’s vice president of learning and development. “We celebrated an achievement that should serve as a reminder of what we accomplished together with a shared vision. Cheers to the journey that we have travelled and extraordinary possibilities that lie ahead in El Paso, Texas.”
Our proven work-based learning model generates career outcomes for students, provides employers a skilled workforce to address an early talent need, and delivers higher ed institutions a sustainable affordability and student success model.
“To deliver on our mission of access and economic mobility, we need to use every tool at our disposal to reduce college costs and create educational experiences that prepare students for the world of work,” said John Wiebe, Ph.D., UTEP provost and vice president for academic affairs. “This model allows us to do both at the same time.”
EAW enables college students to gain real-world experience at major employers and Fortune 500 companies. UTEP students participating in the program have the opportunity to work on behalf of Discover Financial Services’ consumer-facing financial services team.
“At Discover, it is our mission to help people spend smarter, manage debt better, and save more to achieve a brighter financial future. This partnership builds on that mission by helping students advance their formal education while learning important job skills,” said Tracy Hedrick, Discover Financial Services vice president of card operations. “We are excited to invest in these students while they are pursuing careers in their field of study and building brighter financial futures.”
In addition to developing resume-ready skills and earning wages through flexible hourly work, UTEP students receive up to $5,250 per year of employer-paid tuition assistance from Discover to help offset the cost of their education. In the one-year partnership, UTEP students have already received over $1.1 million in wages and tuition assistance earned.
“It was such an amazing experience to celebrate with UTEP, Discover, Strada, and the leadership from Education at Work. It’s amazing what a year can do, and to not only see it but be absorbed into it last week, was such an honor. I had an opportunity to speak to each individual and to feel genuine appreciation and commitment from all of them. It was a time of team bonding and reflection, reminding me why I work at EAW and how impactful our mission truly is. I couldn’t be more excited for the future of our organization.”
– Stephanie Toston, Vice President of Growth, Education at Work
Students at UTEP can apply for opportunities with Education at Work and Discover Financial Services at educationatwork.org/student-jobs.