A bold, attention-grabbing opening: Freedom to Dream is back, and this time it’s expanding its reach to help even more students unlock an affordable path to higher education.
Del Mar College is inviting applicants for the second cohort of its Freedom to Dream Tuition Waiver Program, a first-in-kind initiative that covers tuition for eligible students for up to three years.
ANA CONEJO, a proud Houstonian who joined KRIS 6 News in April 2025 to report on the Coastal Bend, shares the story of real lives touched by the program. Catarina Martinez remembers the moment she discovered her tuition would be covered—tears of relief for her and her mother and cheers from her father in the next room.
Martinez’s journey shows why this program matters. After graduating from Veterans Memorial High School, she started at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi but had to drop out due to financial pressures.
“I originally went to the island after I had graduated from Veterans, but there was a little bit of financial trouble, and I wasn’t able to stay there, so I tried coming over to Del Mar, and I could only complete one semester before I couldn’t afford more,” Martinez explained.
Today, Martinez is pursuing biology at Del Mar College through the waiver and has a clear goal: to become a practitioner of Chinese medicine and acupuncture.
Since its launch in fall 2025, the Freedom to Dream initiative has already provided free tuition to more than 1,700 students. This week, Del Mar College announced an expanded second cohort with new features, including continuing education options that lead to institutional credentials, licensure, or certification for careers that require shorter training periods.
Dr. Patricia Benavides-Dominguez, Vice President of the Division of Student Affairs, explained the rationale for the expansion. “We knew the continuing education programs were drawing a lot of interest and enrollment, so we decided to pilot them,” she said. She added that students can still access additional scholarships and financial aid alongside the free tuition.
Martinez urges peers to seize the opportunity, underscoring education as a fundamental right. “I really want everyone to get the free education they deserve. Nobody deserves to be denied an education,” she said.
Eligibility details for the second cohort, according to Del Mar College’s site, include:
- In-District Residency: Applicants must live within Corpus Christi ISD, Calallen ISD, Flour Bluff ISD, Tuloso-Midway ISD, West Oso ISD, and parts of London ISD and Robstown ISD.
- High School Graduates: Open to members of the Class of 2026, including GED recipients. Dual credit students are eligible regardless of credits earned.
- Adult Learners: Applicants with 12 or fewer college credits completed by the fall 2026 term.
- Ongoing Requirements: Enroll in at least 12 semester credit hours per term starting fall 2026 and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA to keep the waiver.
Prospective applicants can expect to see the application window open by the end of January 2026 and can stay updated at https://www.delmar.edu/freedom/.
Note: This story was originally reported on-air by a KRIS 6 News journalist and has been transformed for this platform with AI assistance. Our editorial team remains committed to fairness and accuracy across all outlets.
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