A Brownsville non-profit is helping students across the Rio Grande Valley get ready for college.

It was started by a Valley native and her husband to help students reach for their dreams and plan for the future.

"We work with students after school, on weekends, really whenever they're not in school to help with every single piece of the college application process," Maria Fernanda Martinez Donaus said.

Maria is a Brownsville native and is the executive director of RioProgress. She runs the non-profit with her husband, Philippe Donaus.

Their goal is to help students of all backgrounds go to college.

"We have a lot of conversations with parents and students who think that they cannot afford to go to college, and that is simply not the case, especially here in the Valley. We have some great affordable options, with our local universities and community colleges," Maria said.

The non-profit was created in 2022 to help change that mentality.

"One of the things we do is tailor a plan for each of those students and their families, so that the families know their kid can go to college. Exactly how much it's going to cost, but more importantly, their student is getting the most out of it," Philippe said.

Since its launch, RioProgress has grown from serving six students to 26.

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"Our cohort program is for 11th and 12th graders, juniors apply their junior fall, junior spring year, and we do cap it because it is free program and we want to make sure we maintain the quality," Philippe said.

One student from IDEA Brownsville College Prep says RioProgress helped him get into the university of his dreams.

"I'll be attending the mechanical engineering program at Duke University on a full-ride scholarship," Rayyan Farooqui said.

Farooqui came to the United States from Saudi Arabia in 2020. He says RioProgress helped him figure out what the college process was like here.

"For me, someone who moved to the United States not too long ago, it was hard to pinpoint what is necessary to set myself up for success. So I started with doing a lot of things at once. So RioProgress helped me to funnel those things and streamline it and basically who I am as a person," Farooqui said.

For the Class of 2027, Maria says the cohort will expand to 40 students. She hopes the program continues to grow and help everyone in the Valley reach their goal of going to college.

"So if you are interested in going to college, don't let college costs the thing that stops you," Maria said.

RioProgess, and the couple behind it, are made in the 956.