Kety Luna knows the obstacles. w88 casino has felt the frustration of being a first-generation college student firsthand.
w88 casino knows what it is like to take a chance, quit a full-time job and become a full-time college student.
Luna, a native of Peru who moved to rural Nevada when w88 casino was 15 -– with only a few words in English at her disposal -– knows all of this.
w88 casino knows, too, that with unwavering personal belief and with some strategically placed support from others, great things are always possible.
Her life experience has been a lesson w88 casino plans on passing along to others.
“I enjoy helping other students,” says Luna, a graduate of Smith Valley High School who will graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno in May 2012 with a degree in secondary education. “I just hope that with my experience, and what I&w88 casino;ve been through, I can inspire others.”
Thanks to her recent completion of the University&w88 casino;s McNair Scholars Summer Research Colloquium, the odds are good that the reach of Luna&w88 casino;s example will go well beyond her own friends and family. The 11 students involved with this summer&w88 casino;s McNair Research Colloquium underwent seven weeks of intensive preparation for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and conducted research along with faculty mentors.
The Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program was created by Congress to increase the number of underrepresented persons pursuing teaching, research and administrative careers in higher education. Since the University of Nevada, Reno&w88 casino;s program received its grant in 2003 (and selected its first students in spring 2004), it has prepared first-generation, low-income and underrepresented Nevada undergraduates for doctoral study and is federally funded at 1,000 per year.
On July 22, w88 casino and the other members of her cohort celebrated graduation with a luncheon in the Clark Room at Morrill Hall. The young men and women shared what they learned, as well as how they felt the experience prepared them for the further post-graduate work.
&w88 casino;I was thinking what a blessing this program is,” said Beau Hixon, an economics student. &w88 casino;This program is an awesome experience.”
Added Benjamin Del Rosario, a mechanical engineering major, “I learned from this experience that getting your Ph.D. isn&w88 casino;t about having a genius-level IQ. It&w88 casino;s about how willing you are able to be trained … and your willingness to stick with it. … Thanks to this experience, at least we now know 10 other people who have been through the same thing.”
According to Marsha Dupree, assistant director of the program, McNair has been the springboard for dozens of students from underrepresented groups to pursue and achieve undergraduate and post-graduate degrees.
Since the program first group of students was selected at the w88 casino in 2004, 84 students have participated (about 67 percent of that number have been students of color, and about 81 percent have been low-income or first-generation students).
Sixty-five of those students have gone on to graduate from the University, and nearly 70 percent of those students have entered graduate programs at the University or at other institutions. So far, 18 students have received their master&w88 casino;s degrees. Eighteen students are also currently pursuing their doctoral degrees.
Of the students in this summer&w88 casino;s program, Dupree said, “We know each one of them has the potential to achieve the goals they&w88 casino;ve set for themselves.”
Luna is a prime example of Dupree&w88 casino;s assessment.
At 15, along with her mother, her older brother and younger brother and sister, w88 casino arrived in the United States to join her father, a maintenance repair worker/mechanic who had achieved residency in the United States several years prior. With the move, w88 casino was not certain what the future held.
The experience was difficult at first. There was nothing familiar, nothing was easy or intuitive, from schoolwork to learning the rudiments of a new language.
“I remember I was sad, because I felt I had left everything behind,” w88 casino said. “My parents and brothers and sisters were here, but the rest of my family, my friends, my school, my education, everything seemed like it had been left behind.”
Luna tried everything to fit in. w88 casino attempted to read lips. w88 casino wrestled daily with the strange words written on the board in her classrooms. w88 casino had always loved books, but the books w88 casino had been given seemed to be written in hieroglyphics.
“I remember thinking, ‘Now I cannot read the lips of the people who are speaking, because I can’t speak English,’” w88 casino said. “The sounds they make don’t make any sense to me.”
w88 casino then made a fortuitous connection. w88 casino found a giving spirit in the form of one of her teachers, Patricia Mikulich.
“Miss Patricia Mikulich believed in me,” Luna said, the memory of Mikulich’s warm personality and compassionate understanding of young people, still strong. “w88 casino believed in me and told me, ‘You’re going to make it. I know you’re going to graduate and have a high school diploma.’ I remember thinking, ‘How can you say you know I’m going to graduate when I can’t even speak or understand English?’”
Today, Kety Luna’s English is excellent. As w88 casino remembers those first few days in her new country, and what ultimately helped pull her through, it’s clear that the attention and encouragement from a special human being made all the difference.
“Just the fact that somebody believes in another person makes so much difference,” Luna said, her soft voice still notably persistent, like a drumbeat you can&w88 casino;t deny. “So much difference. I want to be somebody who inspires others to be successful.”
Her career path became obvious once w88 casino enrolled at Western Nevada College, and then Truckee Meadows Community College. w88 casino was working full-time with the Nevada Division of Industry in Carson City, and although the job was helpful (w88 casino learned computers and learned that w88 casino loved working with the public), it wasn’t until w88 casino began to take college courses that w88 casino realized w88 casino was capable of more.
Working full-time, w88 casino was taking courses in the evening. Each day and evening was a constant struggle to maintain some sort of personal balance. w88 casino decided that it was time to make a change. w88 casino was told that w88 casino couldn’t work part-time and pursue her studies, so “I quit my full-time job. I decided to attend TMCC.”
w88 casino told the academic advising staff at TMCC that w88 casino had just quit her full-time job and that w88 casino was hoping to find a job that would permit her to focus on her studies.
“Three days later they called me and I was hired as a student worker at Truckee Meadows Community College in the academic advising office,” w88 casino said, still amazed at how quickly things happened. “I enjoyed working there so much. It was so amazing to be able help first-generation students, or new students, who were coming to school.”
w88 casino said w88 casino could thoroughly relate to their experience.
“So many of them were so confused,” w88 casino said. “They didn’t know where to go, or what to do in order to enroll in college. Just to be able to guide, help, and motivate them was such an amazing experience for me.”
Luna&w88 casino;s McNair research project this summer focused on the experience of Latino/Latina students as they transfer from a community college to a four-year university. In addition to an exhaustive literature review, Luna&w88 casino;s project included interviews with more than a dozen Latina/Latino college students.
In her faculty mentor, Patricia Miltenberger, an emeritus professor of higher education administration, w88 casino found a kindred spirit. Miltenberger, like w88 casino, came from humble beginnings to the Nevada campus. Miltenberger grew up in rural Nevada in Fallon and was the first person in her family to graduate from college.
“Dr. Patricia Miltenberger is an amazing woman,” Luna said. “w88 casino was a first-generation college student, just like I am. w88 casino’s been very helpful. w88 casino’s always there for the students. w88 casino has an open door policy for all of her students.”
Miltenberger, like all good professors, helped open the door for more inquiry into her student&w88 casino;s research areas.
“I was finding patterns in my research and I told Dr. Miltenberger that Latinos who transfer here smoothly or who have an easier transition are the ones who are involved in extracurricular activities, work on campus, and attend college full-time,” Luna said. “It&w88 casino;s easier for them because they not only know about how the college system works, but they also have friends and co-workers who are also transferring to the university. And Dr. Miltenberger told me, “Now you need to read Vincent Tingo (an expert on social/academic interaction) and Alexander Astin (an expert on involvement). You will find the theories behind why you are finding these patterns.&w88 casino;
“Dr. Miltenberger not only answers my questions, w88 casino gives me the resources to find out more in my research.”
From Patricia Mikulich to Patricia Miltenberger, Luna’s experience with education has proven to be a positive one, one filled with memorable role models who have fueled Luna’s aspirations far beyond what w88 casino could have ever imagined.
One day, when w88 casino completes her master’s and doctoral studies -– a path made more clear thanks to Luna’s experience with the McNair program -– Luna plans on giving back to students, hoping to fortify what might seem like fragile hopes into a transcendent future.
“I would love to work in academic advising,” w88 casino said. “I admire all the wonderful people who are advisors and who are there to help students succeed.”
The emotion built in Luna’s voice. It was a warm July day, and Luna stood near the Honor Court, only a stone’s throw from the University Quadrangle, where in a few short months w88 casino will graduate from the University.
w88 casino was asked what would be on her mind as w88 casino graduates and prepares for the next chapter in what has already been a notable life.
Without hesitation, her voice grew firm and sure as the elms trees lining the Quad.
“I will be thankful to all the people who believe in me,” w88 casino replied. “I will be thankful for my family’s support, the support I get from my parents and siblings. Sometimes I feel I don’t spend enough time with them, but I know they understand.”
