Port San Antonio, once a bustling hub for military aviation training, is now channeling its resources into shaping the future of tech-savvy youths from San Antonio's South and West sides. Jim Perschbach, the Port's CEO, is not just paying lip service to community development; he's plowing profits into educational initiatives aimed at grooming the next generation for careers in computing, aerospace, and cybersecurity.
Some residents like Jose Loera, a product of the local school system and now a cybersecurity expert with H-E-B, have already reaped the benefits. "It didn’t seem unattainable anymore," Loera told the San Antonio Report, reflecting on his journey from intern to industry professional. In an echo of this sentiment, Perschbach outlined an aggressive strategy to recruit today's students as tomorrow's employees, funneling $560,000 through the Kelly Heritage Foundation over the past year alone into local student programs.
However, the vision for Port SA transcends standard corporate outreach. Initiatives range from computer-building programs to all-encompassing events like Fiesta de Los Niños, where STEM exhibits blend seamlessly with traditional carnival fun. Perschbach's mission aims to reverse a traumatic local history — the closure of Kelly Air Force Base in the '90s that stripped the area of thousands of jobs, a devastation Perschbach is determined to amend.
"We have this tendency, unfortunately particularly in San Antonio, [to say] that they can't achieve something," Perschbach remarked in a sobering account to the San Antonio Report. His strategy includes tapping into the untapped potential within the neighborhood, leveraging educational programs to break the cycle of doubt and underachievement.
This initiative coincides with the Port's evolving identity. Drivers on Highway 90 might overlook the signs for Port San Antonio, unaware that the site is no longer the off-the-grid military base many once knew it to be. "There’s a misconception that this is some sort of strange, off-the-grid federal enclave that operates under a different law, which isn’t true," Perschbach explained to KSAT. His rebuttal underlines a transformation from a military past to a civilian high-tech future, one that seeks to stabilize and galvanize a community still recovering from the economic blows of base closure decades ago.
It's a rebirth underscored by stories like Siddhi Raut, a young space researcher and recent high school graduate honored by the Dee Howard Foundation. Raut, once discouraged from pursuing her interest in astrophysics, now exemplifies the very talent Port San Antonio hopes to cultivate. "And it took me a lot of effort to understand that math is just a skill — and as with all skills, you can get better at it," she said during her acceptance speech, encapsulating the ethos of the Port's mission.
With the future of transportation technology discussions and drone competitions filling the Port's calendar, it's clear that San Antonio's once-military hub is now flying a new flag: that of innovation, opportunity, and the unyielding belief in local youth potential.
