From Student to Employee: PSJA Graduate Turns Training into Opportunity

SAN JUAN, Texas — When Edgar Vargas walked across the stage as a Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (PSJA ISD) graduate in May, he closed one chapter of his life. Today, he is getting the opportunity to put the skills he learned into action through a part-time position with the very district that helped him prepare for his future. 

Vargas, a graduate of PSJA ISD’s Pathways Toward Independence (PTI) program for students with special needs ages 18-21, is now putting years of hands-on training into practice as part of the district’s College Readiness Department. 

For Vargas and those who helped prepare him for this moment, the opportunity represents much more than a job. It is independence, purpose, and proof of what can happen when students of all abilities are given meaningful opportunities to develop their strengths. 

“So far it has been pretty good,” Vargas said. “I was a little nervous because I didn’t know how things worked. But the moment I got used to it, and with the help of those around me, it really helped me a lot on how I’m able to work.” 

Today, Vargas works up to four days a week supporting the College Readiness team with organization and other day-to-day responsibilities. 

The skills he uses on the job were developed over years through PTI, an adult transition program focused on preparing students with special needs for employment, greater independence, and active participation in their communities. 

For Vargas, some of that preparation took place at the PSJA Family Shop, the district’s student-operated retail store. There, PTI students create and sell merchandise while gaining hands-on experience in production, organization, customer service, and other workplace skills. All proceeds from the shop benefit the students. 

PTI students also develop independent living skills through PSJA’s LIFE House, a real-world learning environment where students practice cooking, laundry, hygiene, household responsibilities, social skills, and other aspects of independent living. Through a partnership with South Texas College, students can also participate in continuing education courses. 

For Vargas, those experiences helped turn lessons into abilities he can now use in the workplace. 

His message to other students is simple: recognize what you can do and give yourself the opportunity to show it. 

“The most important thing is that they need to show their skills, what they’re so good at, what they put their heart into, to know that they are able to work,” Vargas said. 

His journey reflects PSJA ISD’s commitment to ensuring that opportunity does not end at graduation and that students of all abilities are prepared for meaningful lives beyond the classroom. 

Edgar once came to PSJA to learn the skills he would need for his future. Today, he comes to PSJA to work. 

And for the students following in his footsteps, his journey is showing them what their own next chapter can look like.  

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