By Nicole Ward, Data Journalist
Estimated reading time: 2.5 minutes
At the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center in Dallas, students are learning not just traditional high school curriculum, but how to start a business and run a major corporation.
Students are discovering where their interests intersect with opportunities they may not even know about, and DRC member Gresham Smith is giving back to the community with what it does best: architecture, engineering and design.
Through a partnership with Dallas ISD, the national consulting firm provides support and information in the way of lectures, internships, scholarships and more — including learning modern business communication.
Throughout the academic year, students at Townview’s Marvin E. Robinson School of Business and Management collaborate to produce KSBMRadio: The Voice of Townview, a student-led podcast dedicated to school news, sports and careers.
In the short term, this podcast gives students academic credit. In the long term, it fosters valuable connections and shows them how they might grow their interests into a career.
“They do three or four of these a year,” said Max Regalado, Workforce Development Partnerships Coordinator at Dallas ISD. “[On a recent episode, they interviewed] four people from Gresham Smith about their career journeys, about all the zig zags that got them to where they are today.”
These conversations not only give students a realistic view of career development but also show them the benefits of storytelling as a way to make information stickier, something valuable to companies that are looking for ways to cut through the noise and clutter.
Regalado said he has been working with Gresham Smith for about a year to expand Townview’s educational program.
“Every time I suggest something, they’ll say, ‘that’s great, but can we make it bigger? Can we do more?'”
Connecting students to career possibilities
The Gresham Smith team are no strangers to the value of education partnerships.
“The last four years, we’ve focused a lot on education and mentoring,” said Jose Tavarez, Project Manager and Engagement Leader at Gresham Smith.
The firm works on programming spring and summer camps and with the Architecture and Design Exchange Foundation (ADEX), where they worked with students on professional development in architecture, engineering and design. The Gresham Smith team later expanded their work, partnering with Uplift Education on up to four events annually.
It was at a Building Business Opportunities lunch that Tavarez said he crossed paths with Stephanie Elizalde, Dallas ISD Superintendent.
“She said, ‘if you work with Uplift, you should work with us too,’” said Tavarez.
With that spark, Regalado and Gresham Smith Interior Designer Alejandra Espino-Trillo got to work. They designed an initial partnership centered on 10 lectures throughout the year, paired with two summer internship opportunities that ultimately opened doors to scholarships — helping students gain early exposure and sustained support.
“The impact that Gresham Smith has made in just a little more than a year is incredible,” said Regalado. “They’ve easily reached close to 1,000 [Dallas ISD] students.”
For Espino-Trillo, making this kind of impact hits home.
“I’m the first one [in my family] to leave home and go to college in a different city, and I had no idea the opportunities that were out there,” she said.
She finds joy in showing students the many ways they can leverage their skills and education for jobs they may not have known existed. For example, they may only think of a teacher as the person who leads a grade level, but it could mean teaching design at a firm.
Letting their stories do the talking
Espino-Trillo was interviewed by the student podcast hosts at Townview, and she delivered an overarching message to the future professionals: don’t get stuck on the idea that whatever you see right in front of you is all you get.
Will Carlson, an architect at Gresham Smith, was invited onto the podcast as well. He has been with the firm since 2018 and has worked with Dallas ISD for about a year. Carlson often tells students that, early in his career, he worked at a firm he didn’t love to remind them that they’re not locked in a single path.
“I think these campuses do a great job of creating a space where these kids are not afraid to ask questions,” said Carlson.
Not slowing down
In 2026, Gresham Smith and Dallas ISD will team up with ADEX on a four-month program called Wing and Build, and the program’s conclusion will involve an exhibition of bird houses designed and built by students.
As plans to grow the partnership continue, Tavarez said the motivation is clear: comments from former students saying, “you changed my mind about going to college.”
For information on how you can strengthen and engage with the Dallas Region’s talent pipeline, email talent@dallaschamber.org to connect on your company’s needs.