“I get to see my work being done, and I can say I come to a place where I’m like, ‘Oh, look! I did this.’”
There’s a lot of dirt moving on campus as The University of Texas Permian Basin continues major transformations, and one construction worker is building more than new spaces. He’s building his future, too.
“It means, actually, a lot,” Jay Sanchez said. “I get to see my work being done, and I can say I come to a place where I’m like, ‘Oh, look! I did this.’”
Jay has been working on construction projects at UTPB since October 2025, primarily helping with the new Maple entrance.
“It’s been a little bit stressful, you know, here and there, but it’s going pretty good. I like the work we’ve done,” Jay said.
A 2020 graduate of Midland High School, Jay previously attended Midland College for a year before transferring to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) to study game design. But after realizing those paths were not the right fit, he still knew he wanted a college degree to help create a successful future.
That future became clearer when a high school friend introduced him to UTPB and its Falcon Free program.
“She said sometimes that you can come to school here for free,” Jay said.
Falcon Free covers tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduate students whose family income is $100,000 or less, helping make higher education more accessible for students across the Permian Basin.
Learning about the opportunity motivated Jay to apply to UTPB. When his acceptance letter arrived, he said he was excited to officially become a Falcon.
“Oh man, I was joyous,” Jay said. “I was telling my dad, ‘Look, dad, look!’ He said, ‘You better finish this.’”
Jay plans to study cybersecurity through UTPB’s Computer Science program. He is currently applying for financial aid and scholarships and plans to continue working construction while attending school.
“I’m going to see if I can do night classes to have a little bit of balance from my work and school life,” Jay said.
While he knows balancing work and school will be challenging, Jay is excited for the opportunity to build his future while helping build the nest for future Falcons.
“It means, actually, a lot,” Jay Sanchez said. “I get to see my work being done, and I can say I come to a place where I’m like, ‘Oh, look! I did this.’”
Jay has been working on construction projects at UTPB since October 2025, primarily helping with the new Maple entrance.
“It’s been a little bit stressful, you know, here and there, but it’s going pretty good. I like the work we’ve done,” Jay said.
A 2020 graduate of Midland High School, Jay previously attended Midland College for a year before transferring to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) to study game design. But after realizing those paths were not the right fit, he still knew he wanted a college degree to help create a successful future.
That future became clearer when a high school friend introduced him to UTPB and its Falcon Free program.
“She said sometimes that you can come to school here for free,” Jay said.
Falcon Free covers tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduate students whose family income is $100,000 or less, helping make higher education more accessible for students across the Permian Basin.
Learning about the opportunity motivated Jay to apply to UTPB. When his acceptance letter arrived, he said he was excited to officially become a Falcon.
“Oh man, I was joyous,” Jay said. “I was telling my dad, ‘Look, dad, look!’ He said, ‘You better finish this.’”
Jay plans to study cybersecurity through UTPB’s Computer Science program. He is currently applying for financial aid and scholarships and plans to continue working construction while attending school.
“I’m going to see if I can do night classes to have a little bit of balance from my work and school life,” Jay said.
While he knows balancing work and school will be challenging, Jay is excited for the opportunity to build his future while helping build the nest for future Falcons.
