About

Torero Urban Scholars creates a pathway for formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted individuals at the University of San Diego to thrive and prosper in higher education with the ultimate goal of long-term employment. We are building a prison-to-school pipeline through newer and stronger comprehensive student support, transfer recruitment, and the professional development of administrators, staff, and faculty across campus.

Historically, individuals who have been formerly incarcerated lack access to basic and fundamental human rights - educational equity being one of them. In response, Torero Urban Scholars (TUS) was created. The idea for this program first started back in 2018 through the graduate research of Janelle Brown-Peters, M.A., Austin Galy, M.A., and Robert Ehnow, P.h.D all identifying as justice impacted/involved themselves. Through their research, it was found that just about all higher education institutions in San Diego county already had an existing program supporting formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted students. At that time, USD was not one of them. So, the idea for the program was developed to be modeled after similar programs throughout the county (Project Rebound at SDSU, Underground Scholars at UCSD, and more). Thankfully, USD’s Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Initiatives committee had a funding program available to support various institutional goals, one being strengthening diversity, inclusion, and social justice. TUS was fortunate enough to be in one of the latest round of grant awardee recipients this past spring of 2022.

Torero Urban Scholars is designed to provide student support services to justice-impacted students at the University of San Diego and those interested in transfer to USD from neighboring community colleges and/or incarceration facilities. TUS seeks to provide tools and resources to administrators, faculty, and staff across campus to facilitate the support needed to successfully work with its students. TUS has developed workshops and trainings for best practices, raising awareness, breaking down stigmas surrounding its students, and establishing allies. Additionally, TUS has partnered with USD’s Career Development Center to assist its students with career readiness and employment opportunities, through workshops (resume writing, professional attire, etc.), one-on-one sessions, mock interviews, career fairs, and employer info sessions. TUS has also developed a Transfer and Outreach Program to identify justice-impacted students at neighboring community colleges, some of which offer courses inside of local incarceration facilities. The aim is to provide support for students on the admissions process at USD to include transcript analysis, major preparation, counseling, completing the application, financial aid options, developing a personal statement, and much more.