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Audrie Torres, a senior at CAST Med High School, looks back at how her experience on CAST School’s Student Advisory built her capacity to lead in new ways. As just one example, Torres helped start D.E.P.O.T. (Diabetes and Education Prevention Team), a CAST Med club that promotes healthy eating and diabetes education in the community.
“I served on the advisory board for two years, and each year has been an exciting and rewarding experience,” Torres said. “I love the opportunity to represent my peers within the network and to amplify their voices. My favorite part of this role has been the Youth Rally held at The DoSeum, where students take on the responsibility of planning an entire day that is completely student-run.”
The Student Advisory includes five representatives from each of the network’s six high schools. Over the course of a year, student leaders meet monthly and explore topics of their choosing as part of their leadership development. At their monthly meeting, community leaders share a bit about their personal leadership stories, and students are able to ask questions.
As a key contributor to the community-wide strategic plan Future Ready Bexar County, CAST Schools joins more than 100 cross-sector institutional partners in advancing efforts to ensure that all young people in Bexar County are prepared for future success. Guided by the plan’s pillars — Healing, Access and Voice — Future Ready partners are collectively working toward achieving the plan’s North Star goal of increasing the percentage of Bexar County high school graduates enrolling in a postsecondary degree or credential programs to 70% by 2030.
At the latest monthly meeting, held Friday, Nov. 21, ahead of Thanksgiving, CAST students elected to engage in a service project, decorating turkey boxes at the West Side’s Guadalupe Community Center. They paused to listen to Mike Ramsey, executive director of workforce development for the City of San Antonio, another Future Ready Bexar County partner, who recounted his beginnings in the military, as an educator and now leading San Antonio’s Ready to Work program, which is expanding workforce training, including apprenticeship programs. Ramsey said he sees the work CAST is doing as critical to San Antonio’s long-term economic development.
“CAST providing these opportunities is invaluable — it gives students a head start to find success down the road. Their commitment to apprenticeships is going to build a bridge to high-demand careers that will help our community grow for decades to come. Our local companies need talent. Our high school students acquiring industry-recognized credentials is a major source of this talent that will allow existing companies to grow their business in San Antonio and help attract new companies seeking a strong local workforce,” he said.
CAST student leaders spent several months designing the Youth Rally, a day-long student-led conference for all 10th graders from the six CAST high schools, held this past spring at the DoSeum. In previous years, students have led workshops designed to spark positive affirmations, eat more healthily, improve mental health, journal and more.
Students also have the opportunity to take an annual global leadership trip to Mexico, where, in partnership with the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, they will meet with international industry partners, civic leaders and more. This year, students are traveling to Monterrey to have the hands-on experience of visiting the flagship Mexico store of H-E-B, a strong corporate partner here in San Antonio, and learning more about the company’s expansion and operations in that country.
For many students, like Eduardo from CAST STEM High School, this will be their first time leaving the country.
“I’m super excited! This is my first time leaving the U.S.,” he said. “I’m excited to see somebody else’s culture and see how other people live their lives.”
Founded in 2017, CAST Schools’ emphasis on student voice provides a different student experience than traditional schools. With seven different CAST Schools spanning four different school districts in San Antonio, the Center for Applied Sciences and Technology (CAST Schools) has taken the traditional role of the student and completely revolutionized it.
As the lead Ready Maker for Youth Voice, CAST Schools Network has actively enhanced its capacity to scale youth voice platforms. This work empowers Future Ready campuses and programs to deepen the shared decision-making with students, advancing the Future Ready Bexar County Plan’s North Star goal .
With CAST, students are more than just learners — they are difference-makers, both inside and outside the classroom. CAST students have an immediate influence on their schools, and every year countless students look to create, innovate and explore.
