LULAC’s Upward Bound program is deeply committed to helping students succeed academically and prepare for college and beyond. As AI rapidly reshapes education, careers, and everyday life, program leaders wanted to ensure their students weren’t left behind or misusing tools without guidance.
Students were already hearing about AI tools like ChatGPT, but lacked clarity around:
What AI actually is (and isn’t)
How to use it ethically in school
Whether it could truly help with academics, scholarships, and career planning
LULAC needed a partner who could deliver hands-on, ethical, and empowering AI instruction while staying aligned with TRIO’s mission and values.
“We wanted our students to learn how they’re already being impacted and yet also what they can do to become part of the community that’s developing the future of AI.”
Renato De Los Santos
Executive Director, LULAC National Educational Service Center of Dallas Upward Bound
Enter AI Essentials. Our mission is to help students and educators use AI ethically and effectively to improve their lives and learning outcomes.
AI Essentials partnered with LULAC Upward Bound to deliver a series of interactive AI for Academics and Career Readiness sessions designed specifically for first-generation students.
Through engaging, student-centered workshops, participants learned:
✅ The foundations of AI, including different types of AI, what ChatGPT is, and how machine learning works
✅ Ethics and responsibility first, helping students understand safe, fair, and appropriate AI use in academics and life
✅ How to use AI to identify scholarships they were uniquely qualified for—and ethically strengthen their applications
✅ How to create and improve resumes using AI as a support tool, not a shortcut
✅ How AI is transforming careers in healthcare, business, investing, and technology
To bring learning to life, students participated in interactive capstone projects, where they used AI tools to:
Create business ideas and launch early concepts
Build websites
Explore financially sound investing strategies
Learn about health and wellness using AI-powered tools
This hands-on approach helped students move from curiosity to confidence using AI as a tool for growth, not dependency.
“The AI Training was extremely helpful because I would like ask for little lessons or explain to me like if I was in elementary school and it really helped me understand even the simplest of things.”
Upward Bound Student
Students used AI to strengthen skills in reading, writing, math, and science without compromising academic integrity.
Learners gained confidence using AI as a study and learning support tool, not a shortcut.
Clear ethical guidelines helped students understand when and how AI should be used in academic settings.
Students leveraged AI to identify scholarships they were uniquely qualified for and refine applications ethically.
Resume-focused sessions helped students create and improve professional resumes aligned to college and career goals.
Learners explored how AI supports networking and opportunity discovery as they plan next steps after high school.
Interactive capstones allowed students to build businesses, websites, and project ideas using AI tools.
Students explored financial literacy and investing concepts with AI-powered simulations and tools.
Hands-on activities demonstrated how AI is already transforming healthcare, business, investing, and technology.
Ethics-first instruction helped students understand responsible, fair, and safe AI use.
Learners practiced evaluating AI outputs critically rather than accepting responses at face value.
Students left with a foundation for long-term ethical decision-making in academics and future careers.
“It’s not something that’s going to go away. It’s here to stay. And I think it’s better for all of us to know how to properly use it.”
Upward Bound Student
With support from AI Essentials, LULAC National Educational Service Center of Dallas Upward Bound is equipping students not just for college, but for a future shaped by AI. Students are learning how to think critically, act ethically, and use technology as a tool to unlock opportunity.
“This experience showed our students that AI isn’t something to fear. It’s something they can use to build their future.”
