CiCi Santos
Dallas Scholar Program Coordinator
CiCi is a dedicated higher education and community engagement professional with a strong background in student success programming, equity-driven research, and data-informed program coordination. A proud Dallas native and Southern Methodist University alumna, she earned a B.S. in Health & Society with a minor in Spanish as a recipient of the SMU Dallas County Mustang Scholarship.
She previously served as Student Leadership & Success Coordinator at the University of North Texas at Dallas, supporting first-generation college students and Presidential Scholars. At Dallas ISD, CiCi led the district’s secondary teacher home visits initiative and oversaw departmental data collection and evaluation efforts. As the Racial Equity Influencer for her department, she helped expand outreach to families across the district through strategic planning.
Passionate about research, CiCi’s contributions focus on Latinx health resilience, educational equity, and the social impact of COVID-19. She has contributed to publications in SSM – Mental Health and presented at national academic conferences.
Passionate about empowering students and families, CiCi has served on the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas – Dallas Chapter as Co-Chair of the Latinas in Progress Education Program. She also holds leadership roles with the SMU Latino Alumni Board and volunteers with the SMU Mustang Scholars Program. CiCi is excited to help bring the Generation Hope Dallas Program to her hometown.
Fave Quote: "You could call this selfhood many things, transformation, metamorphosis, falsity, betrayal. I call it an education." - Tara Westover
Why: Tara Westover's book, Educated, perfectly encompases the value of the experience of an education. Her story explores the process of self-discovery, re-invention, self-actualization, and ultimately self-love and acceptance, through education. This is something I believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience in their lifetime.