HOUSTON (April 20, 2026) – Attending a recent kickoff event for Lone Star College System’s Alumni Association led to a surprising connection for Shaylee Sunday, LSC-Montgomery alumna.

 

When Sunday shared her plans to pursue a career in law, Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. David Yebra, LSCS chief veterans officer, offered to set up a meeting with his longtime mentor, the Honorable Judge Alberto Gonzales. The Rice University and Harvard Law School graduate started his legal career at a Houston-based law firm and later served as general counsel to Gov. George W. Bush, Texas Secretary of State, Texas Supreme Court justice, White House Counsel member, and the 80th U.S. Attorney General.

 

“One thing Gonzales said that stuck with me is that you will meet people who may be smarter and more capable than you, but developing relationships with those who inspire you and challenge you to grow will open doors you never expected,” Sunday said. “He never planned for his career to progress as far as it did, but you never know when something will come along and change everything.”

 

There was a time when Sunday didn’t think she would be where she is today—graduating from Sam Houston State University and preparing to apply for law school.

 

Sunday attended LSC-Montgomery after high school because it was the most cost-effective option for her family, and she wanted to solidify her career aspirations before transferring to a four-year university.

 

But when she struggled to grasp the concepts taught in her first semester, she was grateful for small class sizes and professors willing to invest in her education. She soon learned that her math skills were at an eighth-grade level, and she was reading at a tenth-grade level.

 

“If I had gone straight to a four-year school, I probably would have failed out,” Sunday said. “I honestly feel like my time at Lone Star College-Montgomery was the best experience I could have had. It gave me discipline and taught me the foundation for what I want to do with my life. The smaller classes gave me one-on-one time with professors that I probably wouldn’t have gotten at a university. Lone Star College System is always going to have a special place in my heart.”

 

Her professors and tutors at the campus writing center helped her catch up, boosted her confidence and fostered a love of learning. Sunday graduated with an associate degree in summer 2024 and transferred to SHSU that fall. She plans to take a gap year after graduating to travel the country, study for the Law School Admission Test and apply for law schools.

“So many different types of people come to Lone Star College System, so my time there opened my eyes to the world around me more than my high school experience ever could have,” Sunday said. “During my gap year, I want to see more of the country and the people that I will one day represent as a lawyer.”

 

Gonzales encouraged Sunday to enjoy this time to recharge and not rush to start law school right away. Overall, his words inspired her to be open to new experiences, people and learning opportunities.

 

“We want the Lone Star College System Alumni Association to be a powerful network for former students to connect and strengthen our community,” said Carolyn Donovan, LSCS associate vice chancellor, Alumni Relations & Engagement. “Shaylee’s experience shows her fellow alumni that putting yourself out there to build relationships can lead to exciting opportunities.”

 

Alumni can learn more about the new Lone Star College System Alumni Association at The Launching Point, a virtual event on April 30. Learn more at LoneStar.edu/Alumni-Highlights.

 

Lone Star College System enrolls over 90,000 students each semester providing high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education. LSCS is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Mario K. Castillo, J.D., serves as Chancellor of LSCS, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and has been named a 2025 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education. LSCS consists of eight colleges, six centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.

HOUSTON (April 16, 2026) – Lone Star College System’s Honors College continues to impress the nation, including at the Great Plains Honors Council conference in Kansas. Forty-four students attended and presented original research alongside students from Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

 

LSCS students claimed all three Dennis Boe Paper Awards, the GPHC’s most prestigious student research honor.

 

“The Dennis Boe Award recognizes outstanding scholarship presented by honors students and reflects the rigorous research, critical thinking and mentorship that define the Honors College experience at Lone Star College System,” said Katharine Caruso, Ph.D., LSCS associate vice chancellor, Honors and International Education. “We are so proud of the work our students invested in their outstanding research projects.”

 

LSCS Honors College students have opportunities throughout the year to grow their confidence in a supportive environment through research, leadership development, conference participation, travel programs, internships and more.

 

“Presenting my research at the conference was an amazing experience,” said Emanuelly Carmo, LSC-Montgomery Chancellor’s Fellow. “It felt great to present my hard work in front of a room full of people and made me feel proud of all that I've accomplished. The Lone Star College System Honors College is providing me with chances to develop not only my intellectual curiosity, but my soft skills and leadership skills.”

 

Carmo was one of the three Dennis Boe Award recipients this year for her paper, “From Crisis to Monument: Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple and Ashoka’s Pillars as Strategic Branding Campaigns.” Combining her interests in marketing and ancient societies, she analyzed ancient monument-building as strategic statecraft, spanning Egyptian and Indian history.

 

Aaliyah Linton, LSC-Kingwood Chancellor’s Fellow and Boe Award winner, focused her research on how sociopolitical control over women shifted in form across four centuries—from accusations of witchcraft to medical pathology—in her paper, “The Continuity of Control: The Shifting Faces of Patriarchal Control over Women from Witchcraft in the 1600s to Hysterics in the 1800s.”

 

“When I wrote ‘Continuity of Control,’ I wasn’t thinking about awards or even grades—I wrote it because I was genuinely invested in the topic and wanted to explore it in a meaningful way,” Linton said. “Being selected at each step and ultimately winning the award for something I was truly passionate about was intimidating but felt incredibly validating. It reminded me that the work I care about has value, and that my voice—as well as the voices of the women I was studying—deserve to be heard.”

 

Abiela Swan, LSC-Montgomery Merit Scholar, was also recognized for her research, “Crossing Boundaries: What Jewish & Dutch Epigenetics Reveal about Stress Markers in the Chickasaw Nation,” which explores how historical trauma may influence transgenerational epigenetic patterns across marginalized populations.

 

“Being a recipient of the Dennis Boe Award opened so many doors for me, from publication to college applications to new connections,” Swan said. “The Lone Star College System Honors College has played a significant role in preparing me for my future goals by challenging me academically and encouraging me to think critically and independently.”

 

Lone Star College System and Sam Houston State University are slated to co-host the 2027 GPHC conference in The Woodlands next March.

 

 

 

Learn more about the LSCS Honors College at LoneStar.edu/Honors.

Lone Star College System enrolls over 90,000 students each semester providing high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education. LSCS is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Mario K. Castillo, J.D., serves as Chancellor of LSCS, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and has been named a 2025 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education. LSCS consists of eight colleges, six centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.