From Darkness to Dreams: Longhorn Earns Degree 20 Years in the Making

A single credit short of graduating in 2010, Gabriel Morales, BS ’25, faced financial hardship and left UT without a degree. What followed was 15 years of adversity, including bouts of depression and periods of homelessness, until Morales resolved to turn his life around, discover happiness, and complete his degree. Receiving critical support from a network of lifelong friends from UT, he officially became a first-generation college graduate in Fall 2025, twenty years after he first enrolled. Now an accomplished demoscene graphics programmer, Morales has contributed to Digital Foundry and Eurogamer, and is working on a book about programming for the Sega Dreamcast. Pictured from left are PJ Holt; Morales; Zach Arnold, ’08; and Jake Siller, BA ’08.