Agency helps Houston’s high-achieving, low-income scholars access life-changing education at selective universities
Diana’s family made tremendous sacrifices to establish a life in the United States.
Like many newcomers, they lived in a crowded house with relatives when they arrived in Houston from El Salvador. Diana’s mother had earned a business degree in El Salvador, but wasn’t able to use it in the U.S. and instead worked in a school cafeteria. Diana’s older brother, who had hoped to become a civil engineer, gave up his dream of post-secondary studies to find a job and contribute to family finances.
Through their hard work and values, Mom, Dad and her family helped instill in Diana the importance of education—and aspiring toward a better future.
This month, years of devotion will culminate in a proud milestone—as Diana begins her studies at Princeton University, with plans to become a neurologist.
Her journey to the New Jersey Ivy League school was facilitated by EMERGE, a Houston-based college access organization that helps high-achieving students from low-income communities gain entry to selective universities, succeed in their studies and launch life-changing careers.
“There's so much talent and ambition (among our scholars),” reflects Ashley Cash, the Chief Executive Officer of EMERGE. “Our job isn’t just to support a dream, but to provide the structure around it that helps make it real for the students we serve and their families.”
As it did with the young Princetonian, EMERGE begins working with candidates in their sophomore year of high school and supports them, free of charge, through to their strong first career.
Services include intensive college advising, including navigating the application and financial aid process. Along the way, staff help students identify their purpose “and what they really want to get out of the college experience,” Cash explains. “Ultimately, we help them enroll somewhere they can thrive.”
During the 2025-26 scholastic year, EMERGE served more than 3,200 scholars, including students across 61 high-school campuses throughout Houston and more than 2,600 scholars enrolled in college across the U.S. The organization also has a growing network of more than 1,700 alumni.
“We want the scholars to translate their talent and their hard work into degrees and careers and greater opportunity over the course of their lives,” Cash explains.
As a not-for-profit organization, EMERGE relies on donations to perform this sustained, individualized work with these talented young people—the future leaders of the country.
During the 2025-26 scholastic year, EMERGE served more than 3,200 scholars, including students across 61 high-school campuses throughout Houston and more than 2,600 scholars enrolled in college across the United States.
Since 2024, Enbridge has supported EMERGE with a pair of $25,000 grants to help the organization build potential in Houston’s outstanding youth from low-income families, particularly those from underrepresented ethnic and racial groups.
We’re honored to help transform students’ lives as they access the nation’s top colleges—and access is just the beginning.
Selective colleges are among the strongest pathways to economic mobility, Cash explains, noting EMERGE scholars matriculate to these institutions at seven times the rate of similarly matched, high-achieving, low-income students nationally.
For EMERGE, access to college is only part of the equation. The organization stays with scholars through college and into their early careers, helping ensure that opportunity translates into graduation, long-term economic mobility, and greater choice in the lives they build.
“Our students have the talent and ambition,” Cash says. “What isn’t equally distributed is the information, guidance, networks and sustained support that help turn that potential into real opportunity. That’s the gap we exist to fill.”
