SAN ANTONIO – The Sotomayor Wildcats and the Clark Cougars are scheduled to face off in the 2025 KSAT Pigskin Classic on Aug. 28.
Both Sotomayor High School and Clark High have several programs outside of athletics that are worth mentioning.
One program pairs students with mentors for their dream careers.
Katelyn Banglay, a junior at Sotomayor High School, spends hours reading, writing, or drawing fiction characters. She has dreams of becoming a novelist.
“Find yourself feeling lost overall, both in how you’re currently doing and how you might be doing in the future,” Banglay said. “So having books both as an escape and as a way for readers to realize that they’re not alone in that situation is absolutely crucial.”
Gifted and Talented and Independent Study Mentorship, a Northside Independent School District program, is a class period where students find mentors for their dream career fields.
Banglay said that after having her first meeting with a published author, she is already doing just that.
“The writing industry is really rigorous, and it has been for quite a while,” Katelyn said. “So getting an opportunity to both understand how traditional publishing and self-publishing work is an opportunity I’m really grateful for.”
Benjamin Brahm, a teacher at Sotomayor High School who facilitates the program, said that students work with lawyers, doctors, and mental health specialists.
Brahm told KSAT that some of the students end up patenting products or getting hired by their mentors by the end of the year.
“The whole world is competitive,” Brahm said. “And anything that a student can do to get an advantage in that competition, to get their foot in the door, is an excellent opportunity.”
Banglay said she feels like school classes can only teach her so much.
“There is a lot of stuff that you can learn from school; however, getting experience in the actual fields that you consider for the future is absolutely crucial to me.”
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