At NCAN’s national conference, the College Possible Texas leader shared the opportunity that changed his life and challenged colleagues to consider what they are willing to invest in students’ futures.
Years after receiving a college football scholarship, Jesse Hendrix still wondered why his coach had chosen him.
So he called and asked.
The coach had only a handful of scholarships. He could have recruited players from across the country. Hendrix hadn’t been the biggest or strongest prospect. Why him?
The answer stayed with him.
“My coach wasn’t gambling on whether I had talent,” said Hendrix, executive director of College Possible Texas. “He invested one of his few scholarships in giving me a real opportunity.”
That scholarship helped him afford college. It also shaped a conviction he carries into his leadership today: “Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.”
At the National College Attainment Network’s 2026 National Conference, held Oct. 5-7 in Las Vegas, Hendrix brought that experience to a pointed challenge: What does it really mean to bet on students?
Students Are Not the Gamble
During the conference’s “Betting on Our Students” lightning talks, Hendrix challenged the premise behind the theme.
“Students are not the gamble,” he said. “And their talent should not be the risk.”
His coach had recognized his talent. The decision was whether to give him an opportunity. Hendrix asked fellow college access and success leaders to consider their own willingness to make that commitment.
“That, to me, is what ‘betting on students’ should mean: not wagering on their talent, but risking something of our own to make sure opportunity catches up with it.”
His message pushed beyond celebrating students who succeed despite difficult circumstances. He asked why those circumstances should be accepted as the starting point, and what the field could do to make the path more accessible.
For Hendrix, those questions are personal. He knows what it means to have someone see his potential and put resources behind it.
Putting Commitment Into Practice
Today, Hendrix leads a team helping students pursue their own college goals.
Students come to College Possible with talents, ambitions and questions. Some have a college in mind. Others are trying to understand whether attending is financially possible or where to begin.
Coaches help students navigate those decisions and stay connected as they move from high school into college and toward a degree. Sometimes that means reading an application essay or talking through financial aid. Sometimes it means following up when a student encounters a setback and helping them figure out what comes next.
Hendrix’s experience gives that commitment a personal foundation. His coach’s decision helped him attend college. Years later, it still shapes how he thinks about his responsibility to others.
Showing What Investment Makes Possible
Making that commitment is one part of leadership. Helping others understand why it matters is another.
Hendrix explored that challenge alongside BG Tucker, executive director of College Possible Minnesota, in “The Purple Playbook: Making College Access and Success Data Compelling for State Legislators.”
Drawing on experiences in Texas and Minnesota, they examined how student outcomes paired with storytelling can make the case for investing in college access and success.They emphasized creating partnerships with policymakers and highlighting that all communities benefit from expanded opportunities for students.
An Opportunity That Stays With Him
The coach who recruited Hendrix could not have known how his decision would affect number 29, the defensive back from Lakewood Washington.
He gave a talented player an opportunity to attend college. That player became an educator and a leader who would stand before colleagues from across the country and ask them to think harder about the commitments they make to students.
Hendrix called his former coach to understand a decision made years earlier. He carried the answer into his talk at NCAN, turning a personal memory into a question for the field: What are we willing to invest so that opportunity catches up with talent?
More About Jesse Hendrix
Jesse Hendrix is executive director of College Possible Texas, where he leads a team supporting more than 5,500 students annually through personalized resources and coaching. His career spans college access, student success and leadership development, with previous roles at KIPP Texas Public Schools, Rice University and Columbia University. He has served on the National College Attainment Network’s Policy Council since 2024.
