Today, Kevin Chavez runs his own law firm in Texas. But if you had asked him as a high school student whether college was in his future, the answer would have likely been no.
Like many students at his high school, Chavez struggled to see college as a realistic path. What changed wasn’t one person or one opportunity. It was a village of people who encouraged him to take the next step, from a scholarship opportunity through Cleveland Scholarship Programs to the attorneys at Benesch Law who pushed him toward law school.
His story is a reminder that sometimes students need to hear the simple phrase, “you can do this” to prosper.
Negative perceptions shaped Kevin’s college expectations
“After high school, I had no interest in going to college,” Chavez said.
As a student at Jane Addams Business Careers Center, a technical high school in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Chavez often heard negative messages about his school district and the opportunities available to students like him. Over time, those perceptions made college feel out of reach. When students are surrounded by messages about limitations, it can become difficult to imagine what is possible.
How did Kevin go from “College isn’t for me” to “I want to enroll”?
When Chavez graduated high school, he wasn’t filling out stacks of college applications or mapping out a career path. In his mind, college just wasn’t for him.
Still, as a curious 18-year-old, he decided to visit Cleveland’s business-oriented Dyke College. He wasn’t arriving with a plan. He was simply exploring an option he had never seriously considered. What started as a visit quickly became something more. For the first time, college felt attainable. He enrolled, worked to maintain the requirements tied to his enrollment scholarship and began building a future he had never imagined for himself.
During his time in college, Chavez also stopped at a Cleveland Scholarship Programs table and applied for a scholarship. At the time, it was simply another resource on his educational journey. Years later, he would realize just how connected that moment was to the path that followed.
How else did College Now show up in Kevin’s story?
While attending college, Chavez worked in the photocopy department at Benesch Law. What he didn’t realize at the time was that Benesch was the founding organization behind Cleveland Scholarship Programs.
In an unexpected way, the organization that helped open the door to college was still present in his journey years later. The attorneys at Benesch continually encouraged Chavez to apply to law school.
“I did not want to go. I thought it wasn’t for me,” he said. “Then, I kept getting pressed on it and I said, ‘If I apply, will you stop bothering me about it?'”, he says tongue-in-cheek.
He applied to law school and to his surprise, was accepted to Cleveland State University College of Law. Chavez earned his law degree in 1993 and later moved to Texas, spending years at established law firms before opening his own legal practice in 2016.
What can students learn from Kevin’s story?
Looking back, his advice to students is simple: visit a college. Had he never walked through the doors of Dyke College, he may never have discovered scholarship opportunities, attended law school or started his own firm. “I’m always grateful to Cleveland,” Chavez said.
Kevin’s story shows that getting a student to and through college takes a village. Sometimes, that village is a scholarship. Sometimes, it’s a workplace mentor. And almost always, it’s the people who keep encouraging you, even when you haven’t yet believed in yourself. For students who may be unsure about their next steps, his journey serves as a reminder to explore every opportunity available. All it takes is one conversation, one visit or one connection to change your future.
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