Southern builds endowment for first-generation college students

This article was published in the Southern Accent on Nov. 2, 2022.

(Photo sourced from Southern's website)

More than 300 first-generation students currently attend Southern Adventist University, and over 1,000 have graduated since 2005, wrote Ellen Hostetler, vice president for Advancement, in an email to the Accent. A recent plan to specifically benefit these students was developed by President Ken Shaw and the Advancement team as they prepared for the university’s first “A Taste of Southern” gala, which took place in downtown Chattanooga on Oct. 2.

The event raised $93,459.62, with proceeds going to Southern’s new First-Generation Student Endowed Scholarship, according to Donor Recognition & Records Coordinator Candy Reichert.

Individuals will begin receiving the scholarship in the Fall 2023 semester, and the amount given to them will depend on the amount of funds available each year, wrote Hostetler. Students are identified as first-generation if their parents did not complete a four-year college degree, as defined by FAFSA.

“Southern already serves many first-generation students, some from our local Chattanooga community,” Hostetler wrote. “As we planned an event for our local community, we wanted to provide a giving opportunity that would meet a need of current students and resonate with our local community guests. Hundreds of our alumni are first-generation students, and they are doing amazing things in our community — locally, nationally, and around the world.”

In a statement to the Accent, Shaw wrote that the university wishes to increase college completion rates for Hispanic, Black and first-generation students. Hostetler further explained that the university’s strategic plan over the next five years will focus on student retention and graduation rates.

“While all student bodies are included in this initiative, the university is working on plans to identify and address specific needs for demographics who may struggle in this area,” she wrote.

Hostetler mentioned that first-generation students are challenged in unique ways: They may feel guilt leaving family behind and uncertainty about fitting in on campus.

“Their parents haven’t been able to pave the way for them or share their first-hand experience of what college life is like,” she added.

Triumphs and struggles

A current first-generation student at Southern who shared his story at the gala was Railyn Duarte, junior political science and international development major. When Hostetler asked Duarte to speak and told him about the scholarship, he immediately fell in love with the idea.

“I think it’s a great initiative, and a lot of people are going to really benefit,” he said in an interview with the Accent. “ … It almost makes me feel like, “Oh, [Southern’s] looking at the little guys.”

Duarte entered the United States at 13 years old when his family moved from the Dominican Republic to New York. He was placed in a crowded middle school unable to speak English, he said, yet he diligently worked to learn the language. After his first academic year, he was holding full conversations in English and scoring at the top of his class.

“I was really determined,” he said. “I was not going to be left behind. Mind you, it wasn’t easy. I went through a lot of embarrassing moments.”

Duarte’s parents and older brother graduated high school. And, although they did not pursue higher education, they are proud of Duarte’s decision to do so, according to Duarte. He said his academic experience has served as a “symbol of hope” for his immediate family.

Duarte is president of Black Christian Union and a student senator, works 24 hours a week in Student Finance and takes a full load of classes. He involves himself in numerous extracurriculars, he added.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he said with a chuckle. “It is stressful, but it’s rewarding.”

Duarte plans to graduate from Southern and attend law school. His career goals include creating his own law firm and establishing a nonprofit organization.

“Who knows?” he added. “Maybe one day I can even become president.”

During his presentation at “A Taste of Southern,” Duarte stressed that a specific struggle faced by first-generation students is the lack of knowledge held by their parents concerning the complexities of college life.

“Our parents don’t really know the process of how to get into schools. Our parents have never been to school, and, a lot of times, they’re disassociated with the idea of university and college because it’s something they never prioritized,” Duarte later expressed to the Accent. “ … Oftentimes, parents have not planned for their kids to go to college, and I mean in an economic way. … [Our] parents don’t even know how much school costs.”

He mentioned other questions first-generation students have about college that their parents cannot answer, such as how to best study for the ACT and SAT, when to start preparing for college and what to look for in their college search. First-generation students often feel alone because their parents do not understand their workload and accompanying stress, he added.

“They may try to sympathize with you as much as they can, but they really cannot relate to your experience,” he said. “ … The people who you want to comfort you don’t really know how.”

Destini Hufnal, senior nursing major and first-generation student, expressed similar sentiments to the Accent. She said she has not only struggled as a student because her parents cannot relate to her experience but also because she was raised by her grandparents who lived in a time when the educational process looked vastly different.

“Not only was I paving my own path, but I was also trying to navigate life with parents who were from a way different era than we are,” she said. “So everything — from getting my driver’s license to applying for college to taking my ACT — was just so much more challenging. … The world was very different when they were young.”

As an adolescent, Hufnal was placed in the foster care system until her grandparents adopted her and her older sister when she was 10 years old. Her grandparents helped her to the best of their ability when she was in high school, but she still heavily relied on her teachers’ assistance for college preparation. She specifically mentioned the difficulty of applying for FAFSA on her own.

Finances presented numerous challenges. Even now, Hufnal has to be intentional about working during summers and the school year to help pay for school. Scholarships and grants have partly lifted that burden, and Hufnal believes God has played a large role in providing the necessary finances.

“I hope it doesn’t sound too cliche, but God has always provided in that area,” she said. “ … There were times when I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay for school or what was going to happen because I’m pretty much independent in that realm. But, I don’t know, money has always come up, whether it was like a check that just got to me late or just people donating. It’s been a huge blessing to see that throughout my college time.”

After graduating, Hufnal hopes to build a career around either critical care or maternity. Her passion for medical practice was further cemented when she worked in a clinic in Zambia as a student missionary.

Hufnal said her family members are supportive of her college journey, and she credits them for teaching her the values of hard work and independence.

“I’ve had to work hard to get where I’m at,” she said, “and I’ve seen that hard work through many other individuals in my life. Many didn’t go to college … but they’ve built themselves up. I think that helps [me] have a humble appreciation for education.”

An immigrant’s journey

Like Duarte and Hufnal, Nicole Rodriguez, liberal arts education major and first-generation student, has felt the lack of parental instruction in regards to higher education.

“At Southern, I’ve changed my major a lot because I felt like I didn’t have any guidance,” she explained. “Obviously, there [are] people here [who have helped], but it was just different. So I’ve felt very discouraged at times.”

Rodriguez crossed into the United States by foot at either seven or eight years old. She cannot remember her exact age when it happened. Law enforcement officers caught her, but the government’s policy at the time allowed her to reunite with her parents in Atlanta, Georgia.

She remained undocumented until her freshman year of high school, when her parents applied her for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), granting her a work permit and social security card.

“As a child, you don’t really think about it,” she said. “I was kind of oblivious … but I wasn’t documented the whole time. I was illegally here.”

As a DACA recipient, she is granted impermanent citizenship that she must renew every two years. Still, she cannot receive federal aid, which has proved to be a challenge for her at Southern. Furthermore, she has struggled as the first in her immediate family to graduate high school and pursue higher education, often feeling solely responsible for her own educational success.

“Even growing up, it’s been different because my parents didn’t really speak English, so I’ve had to kind of do things on my own,” she said.

As a young student, translation responsibilities landed heavily on her, even at parent-teacher conferences. Now, Rodriguez hopes her knowledge and experience will alleviate the struggles her younger brother, now a freshman in high school, will face as he follows in her academic footsteps.

Over the summer, Rodriguez worked as an English teacher at Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy. In August, the school asked her to return to help translate at the front desk.

“[The experience] made me realize [education] is what I want to be doing,” she said. “ … I had to translate with the families and go to registration, and it felt really good because I remember [being] with my parents and having to translate. It just felt really good because I was helping the kids feel less stressed.”

Rodriguez learned about the job from her advisor, Krystal Bishop, professor in the School of Education and Psychology.

In an interview with the Accent, Bishop said Rodriguez’s story has made her ponder more than ever before the difficulties first-generation students face as they “navigate the waters” of college life. After receiving an advertisement for A Taste of Southern, Bishop made a $500 donation online to the new endowment in honor of Rodriguez. She then contacted her advisee.

“I said, ‘Nicole, I made a donation because I want you to know I see you, and I respect you and I admire you. And I want you to know that this is huge. What you’re doing is huge,’” Bishop recounted. “It’s not just [that she’s a] first-generation American university student — which that’s huge to me too — but she’s first-generation with a whole story behind how difficult it was for her to get to this point. … Of the different types of scholarships that are available to students, this one is probably the one that touches my heart the most deeply.”