However, just months into her freshman year, her tumultuous relationship with her parents reached an all-time low, and she was left with no means to finance her future at UNT.

“My FAFSA application was due in January and I didn’t have access to their financial information,” says Jazzmine. “I didn’t know what to do. I was thinking about dropping out.”

With help from the director of her Upward Bound program, she worked with UNT Student Financial Services team to secure a dependency override that would enable UNT to help her complete her FAFSA each year.

“I went to the FAFSA events on campus every year after that so they could help me reapply.”

It didn’t take long for Jazzmine to find a support system in Delta Kappa Delta, part of the UNT Multicultural Greek Council. She was inspired by the sorority’s philanthropic focus on child abuse awareness and prevention.

Jazzmine also started working in the UNT Dean of Students Office, where she progressed from administrative duties to answering Campus Assessment, Response & Evaluation (CARE) Team calls to overseeing UNT’s Gowns for Grads program.

“I learned so many leadership skills, but I let my grades slip. If I wanted to get into the Teacher Education Program, I had to get my GPA back up,” Jazzmine says “I went to my advisors every semester, well before the deadline, to make sure I knew which classes to take. They were always so helpful, but I would cry almost every time I left. I just kept thinking, ‘There’s still so far to go.’”

After working with her advisor and setting up a meeting with the clinical professor in UNT's College of Education's Department of Teacher Education and Administration, Jazzmine got accepted to the program. When she got the news, Dean of Students Maureen McGuinness encouraged Jazzmine to reach out to Bertina Combs, former interim dean for the College of Education and current vice provost for Faculty Success.

“We just clicked. I’ve met with Dr. Combes at least once a month since then, and when I tell you that she has helped me with everything, I mean everything. She’s made me more positive, more professional. She encouraged me to think of graduate school not just as a possibility, but as a plan. She’s gone above and beyond, and I am so thankful to have her as my mentor.”

Jazzmine had just begun her classroom observations in Denton ISD when everything went virtual – including UNT’s commencement ceremonies.

“I’m sad to be leaving, but I’m proud to call UNT my alma mater. There were so many times I didn’t think I was going to make it – especially financially. But I’m here. I’m finally going to be a teacher, something I’ve wanted my whole life.”

More Great Grad stories: https://commencement.unt.edu/great-grads-fall-2020

Image Description: Jazzmine Mendez, wearing her regalia, posing in front of UNT's Welcome Center.