Inside FLP’s 25th Graduation Ceremony
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FLP graduates standing beside Aaron Brewer, NFL player for the Miami Dolphins and FLP alum.
Few sounds are louder than a room full of students and families realizing, all at once, that years of sacrifice finally paid off.
On May 2, 2026, the Future Leaders Program’s Class of 2026 crossed the stage at the Episcopal School of Dallas to roaring applause, flashing cameras, happy tears, and enough pride to shake the building. Twenty-seven seniors – surrounded by siblings, mentors, teachers, parents, professionals, and Brewer Foundation staff – celebrated their place in the 25th graduating class of the Future Leaders Program (FLP).
The graduates, glowing in cobalt blue graduation gowns, were seated around wooden roundtables dotted throughout the ballroom. Family members scurried between tables – fixing tassels, straightening collars, and squeezing in last-minute photos before the ceremony began.
For the students, the journey to graduation was demanding: Saturday classes, late-night study sessions, leadership workshops, and endless college prep courses. But that Saturday afternoon, they closed a chapter built upon perseverance, discipline, and a year’s worth of hard work.
Two seniors received the prestigious QuestBridge National College Scholarship, one of the nation’s most competitive college access programs. Across the class, students earned acceptances to a wide range of universities, including Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, the California Institute of Technology, USC, SMU, TCU, and West Point.
But FLP was never simply about getting students into college – it’s about cultivating the person beneath the blue robe. That is why the loudest applause of the afternoon was not from the students or the families, but from an NFL player who once sat in those very same seats.
Miami Dolphins team captain and FLP alumnus Aaron Brewer attended the ceremony to support the program that helped shape his path. In honor of the FLP’s 25th year, Brewer personally donated $25,000 to the program, followed shortly after by a $10,000 contribution from the Miami Dolphins.
Students crowded around Brewer throughout the afternoon for photos, conversations, and congratulations. His presence – and later, his closing remarks – reminded students of what was possible beyond the ballroom. “The skills I learned in the FLP – discipline, critical thinking, and the ability to articulate a position under pressure — are things I use every single day,” Brewer said.
Before the ceremony concluded, another surprise awaited the 25th graduating class.
Thanks to a donation from Capital One, every senior will head to college this fall with an essential resource students are expected to have: a personal laptop. Within seconds, Capital One volunteers swarmed the room, placing a brand-new HP laptop into every graduate’s hands.
By the end of the ceremony, the shiny blue robes disappeared into crowds of relatives gathering outside in the Texas heat – arms full of flowers, diplomas, and gift bags. But inside the ballroom, parents still wandered between tables, snapping photos and lingering beside the candy wrappers their children left behind.
For the FLP, moments like these represent far more than graduation day – they are the culmination of years spent investing in students, families, and futures – and a reminder of what can happen when talent is met with opportunity, mentorship, and belief.
Twenty-five years after its founding, the Brewer Foundation’s FLP continues to prove that talent was never the issue – access was.
FLP Class of 2026 Graduates
Luciana Arauz
Emanuel Benitez – QuestBridge Scholar
Angel Gael Campos
Jaide Crawford
Christopher Cueto
Hser Doh
Alicia Flores
Jonathan Garcia
Jeremiah Hall
Leonardo Hernandez
Suzette Hernandez
Serena Herrera
Kwami Ketekou
Ximena Lopez
Nicholas McClinton
Malcolm Moore
Diana Ollarzabal
David Perez-Castellanos
Juan Rojas
Laura Romero
Carlos Sarmient
Alan Sobrevilla
Antonia Soria
Carlos Vasquez
Liliana Villa
Evalyn Villalobos
Angel Zavala – QuestBridge Scholar
Special Recognition
Ben Abbott - Abbott & Associates
Aaron Brewer - Miami Dolphins
Thomas Haung - Dallas Morning News
Bob Mong - UNT Dallas
Kit Sawyer - Klyde Warren Park
Rod Washtingon - Frost Bank
Andrella Thomas - Capital One
Jake Wingell - JP Morgan
