Alec Telles

Star Scholarship Recipient

Alec Telles’ ultimate goal is to help solve climate change and other environmental issues through engineering – and this Truman College graduate is well on his way.

When he graduated from Taft High School, he wasn’t sure what his next move would be. He didn’t want to apply to four-year universities because he was afraid to go into debt while he figured out his path. Then, he found out that he qualified for the Star Scholarship and could play baseball at Truman College. The fact that he wouldn’t be paying for tuition or books while he figured out what career would be a good fit was too good to pass up.

Alec had always enjoyed math, and after taking a range of math classes at Truman, plus guidance from faculty and advisors, he realized engineering would be his future. It wasn’t easy, but Alec used the Math and Science Centers, and the Tutoring Center when he needed it.

“I took physics while I was taking calculus, which I don’t know if I would do again in retrospect. But I was in the Tutoring Center every week, all the time trying to keep up with my classes. They are the greatest people, and I always got the help I needed,” said Alec.

His hard work has paid off with an Associate in Science from Truman College in May 2020, and acceptances to the environmental engineering program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Illinois – Chicago’s mechanical engineering program, Arizona State, and Marquette University.

Find out if you’re eligible for the Star Scholarship, which covers books and tuition for graduates of Chicago Public Schools and Big Shoulders Fund-supported schools, here.