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Around Detroit, Preston Welborne is known as the man with a movie camera.

He’s done media work around his city for more than 15 years for schools, nonprofits, businesses and others. Welborne started looking through the lens around age 8, thanks to a child-friendly camcorder his uncle gave him for his birthday. Welborne even founded his production company, PFP Studios, in junior high. “I liked the concept of recording something in a way that told a story,” he says. “From there, it took off.”

At UM-Dearborn, Welborne, a Journalism and Media Production senior, helped produce a class-project documentary on Ronnie Berry and Sons Halal Meats, which was shown in a local film festival at the Arab American National Museum. He’s done university-related projects with CASL Media Production. And he has grown his media business and added clients like the Skillman Foundation and others.

On the surface, the path forward appears seamless — begin with an interest and drive at a young age, find the right university and see it through. But this college chapter in Welborne’s life wasn’t part of the original plan. For the first-gen college student, a university diploma appeared out of reach.

“When I was in high school, I didn’t know how to navigate the college admission process or have the finances to make an actionable plan,” says Welborne, who graduated from the Detroit School of Arts in 2017. “I’m sure many students who are the first in their families to attend college feel like that. So after high school, I worked. Then I realized that there were skills I wanted to learn and I wanted to expand my network. College could get me there. But I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it happen.“

That’s where the  — a free-tuition path to college for Detroit residents who attend and complete high school in the city — comes in.

“It completely changed my life,” says Welborne, who learned about the Detroit Promise through a flyer handed to him at a high school event his production company was covering. “I don’t know where I’d be without it. I wasn’t sure if college was possible for me — and now I’m a college senior with a wider network, more skills and more confidence.” 

Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Melissa Stone says UM-Dearborn places a focus on transformative education for first-generation students and is a proud Detroit Promise partner. In Fall 2023, the university began welcomingDetroit Promise-eligible transfer students, in addition to direct-from-high-school graduates.

“The Detroit Promise is a wonderful opportunity for our Detroit high school graduate, and we do everything we can to support this program so that students have access to the transformative education our university offers,” Stone says. “Our recent expansion reflects our commitment to make sure UM-Dearborn remains affordable to our Detroit students seeking a Michigan degree.”

Welborne was among the first of UM-Dearborn’s Detroit Promise transfer students. He says he went to community college to “dip my toes in before jumping into the pool,” After graduating from Oakland Community College in 2020, he set his sights on a Michigan degree. In 2022, Welborne started at UM-Ann Arbor and did well there — but with the residence hall costs, his Detroit-based clientele and Ann Arbor’s larger class sizes, it wasn’t the right fit. So he transferred to UM-Dearborn.

“The people at the Detroit Promise helped me see that sometimes one college may not be right for you — but there’s one out there that is. UM-Dearborn has great professors, organizations like the Wolverine Media Network, interesting class projects and a real welcoming feeling. It’s also close to home, which is what I needed,” says Welborne, who is a student ambassador for the Detroit Promise and does media work for them. He ran their social media accounts until earlier this summer and is featured in one of their prominent public service announcements.

Welborne says PFP Studios  now offers a full media suite with photography, commercial work, filmmaking, marketing, writing, event planning and more. Not only does he run the studio to make a living, he also connects with his city by helping youth-focused organizations gain visibility. For example, Welborne says the Detroit Promise was available when he was in high school, but he was so focused on work and life that he didn’t realize the opportunity was out there for him. So he’s hoping to reach kids earlier in their education.

Thinking of the people who have helped him on his journey — from his parents to teachers to mentors to community organizations — Welbourne is looking to help the next generation. He says UM-Dearborn Lecturer Tony Luckett, through a humanities internship course, gave him the educational tools needed to start a nonprofit, something he plans to do by spring 2025. His nonprofit will focus on a variety of life skills, like money management, small car repair, resume building, college applications and more. He also wants his nonprofit to serve as a connection point for a variety of youth resources, like the Detroit Promise. He’d do this though educational videos, workshops and going to kid-centered community events. Welborne feels this is the right step since people who supported and educated him paved his pathway, even in the toughest of times.

“I knew from a young age that I wanted to document life and videography would give me a way to do that. But, with so many people empowering me, I want to take it to the next level and help the young people coming up,” he says. “Life is all about giving back and letting people know that you can make what you once thought was impossible into your reality. The Detroit Promise and UM-Dearborn made it happen for me.”

Story by Sarah Tuxbury.