Meet the Class of 2026

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

�鶹��Ƶ was the university next door, now it’s this freshman’s home

Colleen Rich — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 18:52:55 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ was the university next door, now it’s this freshman’s home Colleen Rich Thu, 09/15/2022 - 14:52

Meet the Class of 2026

Freshman Joshua Dias has long been a part of the �鶹��Ƶ Nation
October 13, 2022
�鶹��Ƶ was the university next door, now it’s this freshman’s home
September 15, 2022
Incoming Patriot leaps from high school to her sophomore year of college
August 31, 2022
Another chance to lead for �鶹��Ƶ volleyball star
August 30, 2022
Incoming freshman is determined to be heard
August 23, 2022

University Scholar Sophia Ramirez got to know �鶹��Ƶ as a participant in the Early Identification Program. Photo by Ashlen Renner/Strategic Communications

Sophia Ramirez woke up on the first day of March at 6 a.m. and quickly checked her email. She knew the selections for the �鶹��Ƶ Scholars program had gone out at midnight. Before she could start her day, she needed to know if she had made the cut.

“I didn’t think I got it at first, but then I kept reading and realized I got in,” Ramirez said. “I was going to �鶹��Ƶ.”

A 2022 graduate of Manassas Park High School, Ramirez grew up with �鶹��Ƶ practically in her backyard. Going to �鶹��Ƶ was always a distant goal, but now it was a reality with her inclusion in �鶹��Ƶ’s Honors College and as a University Scholar, which means her tuition is paid for.

“There was a lot of excitement,” Ramirez said. “I told my mom and she started crying. And then I waited to tell my teachers in person, and then they started crying.”

Ramirez lives with her parents who are immigrants—her father from El Salvador, and her mother from Honduras. News of her acceptance at �鶹��Ƶ traveled far and fast.

“My mom told all her family back home,” said Ramirez. “Any child of an immigrant family knows what I’m talking about. Anything that’s worth celebrating, they tell everyone.”

Ramirez was a part of �鶹��Ƶ’s Early Identification Program, which provides access to educational resources for middle and high school students who will be the first in their families to attend a college or university. So when Ramirez first stepped on campus for her first day of classes, she did so with confidence. �鶹��Ƶ was a familiar place.

Now Ramirez is a history major with a special interest in U.S. history.

“I was always really good at history and I always found it interesting,” she said. “A lot of people, like my friends, will say history is really boring, but I was always the opposite. You can really see the history tie into today, especially in modern politics.”

Eva Bramesco, associate director of Honors College admissions and director of the University Scholars Program, said Ramirez stands out in the program because of her “ability to convey history narratively” and her passion for “interpreting painful history and ensuring uncomfortable history isn’t written over for the comfort of modern audiences.”

That sensibility coincides with the broader goals of the Honors College and of �鶹��Ƶ, which believes in examining full truths no matter how complicated.

“The Honors College emphasizes the value of considering questions and issues from multiple perspectives,” said Richard Stafford, the Honors College’s director of communications. “And it helps students like Sophia learn to collaborate with others who have very different backgrounds, experiences, and training from their own.”

When she isn’t studying, Ramirez works at a community center in Manassas Park and enjoys lifting weights at the gym. She also loves to read, her favorite book being “The Secret History,” a novel by Donna Tartt.

Ramirez said she hopes to eventually attend law school or work in a government agency.

“I feel like I really lucked out with �鶹��Ƶ,” she said. “I’m grateful for all the opportunities it has given me.”

Topics

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Early Identification Program (EIP)

University Scholars

first-generation

Incoming Patriot leaps from high school to her sophomore year of college

Colleen Rich — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 15:00:34 +0000

Incoming Patriot leaps from high school to her sophomore year of college Colleen Rich Wed, 08/31/2022 - 11:00

Incoming freshman Enayah Smith. Photo provided

By the time Enayah Smith stepped on �鶹��Ƶ’s campus for the first time as an enrolled student this fall, she was already more than a third done with her four-year degree.

Smith, who will be studying business analytics and minoring in sociology, said she is transferring 54 college-level credits with her, thanks to an associate degree she earned while attending William Allen High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and participating in the Upward Bound college preparatory program.

“I'm glad that I was able to take off about a year, because I really want to go to law school after I graduate,” said Smith, whose associate degree is from Lehigh Carbon Community College. “�鶹��Ƶ was also a good choice because it’s in proximity to Washington, D.C., so I can get a lot of internships.”

Smith said she’s particularly interested in family law, a focus that stems from looking back at her and her friends’ childhoods.

“I am very fortunate to say my mom was somebody I could turn to no matter what—she played a really big role in my childhood,” she said.

Though Smith said she would love to go back to her childhood if she could, her friends were not as fortunate. They would speak about how their parents fought over them in a divorce, or how they grew up in the foster care system, Smith said.

“I want to make sure that children experience the same thing I’ve experienced, versus my friends who are ready to grow up so they can get out of those childhood traumas and experiences they had,” she said.

“I’ve always wanted to do something related to helping people of color, the same as me,” Smith said. “I’ve always wanted to give back to my community.”

While at �鶹��Ƶ, Smith said she’s looking forward to opportunities that will help her meet her professional goals, but she’s also excited to have fun.

“I am really looking forward to all the opportunities [�鶹��Ƶ] offers,” she said. “They have anything you could think of for recreation…and there’s so many people from so many different walks of life.”

“I feel like it's just going to be a great opportunity to learn about people and learn about myself.”

Topics

Costello College of Business News

Costello College of Business

Another chance to lead for �鶹��Ƶ volleyball star

Colleen Rich — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 17:39:55 +0000

Another chance to lead for �鶹��Ƶ volleyball star Colleen Rich Mon, 08/29/2022 - 13:39

Peyton Ehmke. Photo by �鶹��Ƶ Athletics

Peyton Ehmke loves volleyball.

So much so, the middle blocker for �鶹��Ƶ’s women’s team is not only returning for a fifth season, she has decided that once her playing career is over, she wants to coach.

“I’ve dedicated so much of my life to the sport already, I want to use what I’ve learned over the years to help other people grow as athletes,” Ehmke said.

Ehmke, who like all NCAA athletes received a fifth year of eligibility to compensate for lost seasons due to COVID-19, is the kind of leader any coach would want.

At 6-foot-1, the San Clemente, California, native has never missed a match at �鶹��Ƶ and last season was second in kills, with 227, and blocks, with 61. More importantly, though, she has made it a priority to ensure team harmony and chemistry.

“I’m very close with everyone,” Ehmke said. “If they have any questions, I want my teammates to feel comfortable coming to me as another resource. I want to set an example for current and future athletes.”

“It’s been incredibly valuable for our otherwise fairly young team, having her here to show them the way,” said Megan Shifflett Bachmann, �鶹��Ƶ’s new head coach. “Even more so, she greeted me with open arms and has embraced a lot of the change and gotten everyone on board in terms of really wanting to get on the same page and pursue all the same goals.”

Ehmke, who is pursuing a master’s degree in sport management after graduating in May with a bachelor’s in the subject and a minor in leadership, has made the most of her �鶹��Ƶ experience, and not just on the court.

Photo by �鶹��Ƶ Athletics

In the summer of 2021, she interned in the marketing department of the Bowie Baysox, a minor league affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. And her internships with �鶹��Ƶ Athletics included writing for the department website and learning the ins and outs of social media marketing.

She also contributed to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, which is a conduit to the NCAA for student-athlete concerns.

“I’ve learned so much over the years,” Ehmke said. “I would definitely be comfortable with any career in athletics. �鶹��Ƶ has prepared me very well for my future, and I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the university, its professors, advisors, coaches, trainers, and my teammates for the rewarding and fulfilling academic and athletic foundation they provided me. I am forever indebted to them.”

But it is athletics that have dominated her life. Her mom, Claudine, was a high school volleyball star, and her father, Richard, kicked for the Eastern Illinois University football team, for several arena football teams, and during a preseason for the Chicago Bears.

Through them, Ehmke said, she enhanced her “volleyball IQ” and understanding of what it means to compete.

“You learn from defeat and failure and how that can fuel you into something constructive,” she said. “If you lose, that’s in the past. There’s nothing you can do to change that outcome, so all you can do is change the outcome for the future.”

It’s a message she will impart to her Patriot teammates, who are 1-2 after last weekend’s start to the season.

The team has struggled the past few years. In fact, Ehmke is the only current �鶹��Ƶ player who has played in the Atlantic 10 tournament. That was in 2018 when the Patriots finished fourth in the conference at 8-6, and Ehmke, then a freshman, was named to the A-10’s all-rookie team.

“I’ve been a leader for a couple of seasons. But this year, especially, it feels heightened,” Ehmke said. “I want to set an example for them so once I leave, I can still watch them play with that fire and intention.”

Topics

College of Education and Human Development

Athletics

Student Athlete

Incoming freshman is determined to be heard

Colleen Rich — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 15:38:25 +0000

Incoming freshman is determined to be heard Colleen Rich Tue, 08/23/2022 - 11:38

Meet the Class of 2026

Freshman Joshua Dias has long been a part of the �鶹��Ƶ Nation
October 13, 2022
�鶹��Ƶ was the university next door, now it’s this freshman’s home
September 15, 2022
Incoming Patriot leaps from high school to her sophomore year of college
August 31, 2022
Another chance to lead for �鶹��Ƶ volleyball star
August 30, 2022
Incoming freshman is determined to be heard
August 23, 2022

Charly Dutton had a decision to make, and it would depend as much on her emotions as her determination.

The incoming freshman at �鶹��Ƶ and member of �鶹��Ƶ’s Honors College was on campus competing to become a University Scholar, which would pay her tuition.

Charly Dutton. Photo provided

But the day before her session, Dutton got word that the dog she had for 10 years, a Maltese/Yorkie mix named Brenna, had died.

Eva Bramseco, associate director for undergraduate admissions at the Honors College, gave Dutton the option of going home and continuing the intensive competition virtually. But Dutton, who will major in government and international politics, was steadfast and earned her scholarship.

“In the moment, I was just numb,” Dutton said. “But I took it, like, she made it this far, because had she died before I left, I wouldn’t have been able to make it. So I did the competition with the feeling that I did it for her. She made sure I got down [to �鶹��Ƶ].”

“Competing for a full scholarship and the death of a pet are big life events for any of us,” Bramesco said. “That she was able to carry all the emotions and still be a full participant during our group challenge certainly stood out to me.”

Dutton, from Sicklerville, New Jersey, about 25 miles southeast of Philadelphia, definitely stands out.

She was student body president at her high school. When the school’s principal was asked about students who might be interested in joining the NAACP East Camden County Youth, he immediately thought of her. And when Sicklerville had this summer’s Juneteenth celebration, Dutton, a part of the Black Lives Matter movement, was the host on stage.

She plans to one day be on an even bigger stage when she runs for office, maybe to be a senator from New Jersey.

“Since I want to run for office, I need to help the driving force of my generation,” Dutton said. “It seems like everyone wants to be involved. I just want to be part of that and inspire others to get involved as well.”

Dutton, who also wants to be a lawyer, got a taste of that involvement when she spoke in front of the New Jersey Apportionment Committee, which is in charge of drawing the lines of the state’s 40 legislative districts.

“When they gerrymander the map, they break up the communities and suppress the minority vote,” Dutton said. “I did not want that to happen to my community.”

“When I spoke, they really took time to listen,” she added. “They actually emailed me later and told me ‘great job and we’re really going to look into it.’ I really did feel heard.”

Dutton feels as enthusiastic about �鶹��Ƶ, even though it wasn’t originally on her radar. During a trip to the area to visit colleges, she and her mother drove by a �鶹��Ƶ sign on the highway.

“And when we toured, I just loved it,” Dutton said. “It felt so right.”

It helped when a current student with whom Dutton was on line at a campus coffeehouse talked �鶹��Ƶ up as well.

“She just told me how much fun she was having and how many opportunities she had,” Dutton said. “She wasn’t my major, but she sounded like she was going far. I want to go far like her.”

Topics

University Scholars

Schar School News August 2022

Schar School BA in Government and International Politics

Schar School Student Spotlight

Student body president and vice president are speaking their constituents’ languages

Colleen Rich — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 17:10:46 +0000

Student body president and vice president are speaking their constituents’ languages Colleen Rich Mon, 08/22/2022 - 13:10

Meet Sophia and Celine

�鶹��Ƶ’s new student body president Sophia Nguyen and vice president Celine Apenteng will be doing an Instagram Live for 30 minutes on Monday, August 29, 2022 at 2 p.m. ET on the �鶹��Ƶ Instagram channel.

For Sophia Nguyen and Celine Apenteng, �鶹��Ƶ’s new student body president and vice president, respectively, accountability to their fellow students is paramount.

Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

So much so that on the webpage that displays their platform, there is a contact box through which they can be reached directly. And in a recent conversation about their administration, there was this invitation:

“We are here for you, we will listen to you, we will work with you firsthand,” Nguyen said. “If you want to sit down and have coffee or meet at the Johnson Center, just let me know.”

That kind of outreach is the norm for Nguyen, a senior majoring in government and international politics and minoring in global affairs, and Apenteng, a junior majoring in conflict analysis and resolution with minors in intelligence studies and data analysis.

In fact, when they posted their platform, they did it in seven languages: English, Arabic, French, German, Korean, Russian, and Spanish, to reach as many students as possible.

“One part of our platform is to translate our syllabi into multiple languages, so our friend said, ‘You should translate your platform,’” Nguyen said. “We have a diverse group of friends, so we asked them what languages they know how to speak and write.”

In exchange for lunch or coffee, Nguyen and Apenteng got their translations.

“This was such a smart idea,” said Lauren Kaplan, �鶹��Ƶ’s Student Government advisor. “Sharing their student government platform in seven languages underscored the inclusiveness of our diverse student body. I thought it was so unique and clever. A smart initiative to appeal to every student here on campus.”

Nguyen, from Chesapeake, Virginia, and Apenteng, from Silver Spring, Maryland, are members of �鶹��Ƶ’s Honors College and are experienced Student Government participants. Both were senators and worked extensively with the Government and Community Relations committee of which Apenteng, a University Scholar, was chair. She was also speaker of the Senate.

Nguyen, whose brother, Anthony is a �鶹��Ƶ alumnus (BS mechanical engineering ’18), was chair of the University Life and the Diversity and Multicultural Affairs committees. She also just finished a summer internship at the White House, working to eliminate hate against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Apenteng over the summer traveled to Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg with �鶹��Ƶ’s International Security Studies Program through the Global Education Office.

Fast friends, they complement each other’s personalities.

“She’s my accountability person,” Nguyen said of Apenteng. “She helps my flaws because my flaws are being a little too shy when it comes to saying my feelings. I’m, like, ‘Wait, Plan D, what should I do?’ She’s like ‘no, stop,’ so that’s her.”

Their platform is extensive and includes working with �鶹��Ƶ Dining to ensure all students have food options that fit their dietary or religious guidelines, and with the Office of Sustainability to decrease the amount of disposable plastic material on campus.

They also want to create a Title IX student advisory group and revive the “Coffee with Cops” program in which students talk about issues with �鶹��Ƶ police.

Both Nguyen and Apenteng said they have benefited from their �鶹��Ƶ experience.

“I really like the atmosphere on campus,” Apenteng said. “I don’t find it to be very competitive. It’s much more collaborative. It’s great to be able to work in that kind of environment so people know they can have input and be part of something.”

And speaking of input, “if there’s a problem that impacts you as a student, it impacts us as student leaders,” Apenteng said. “If we don’t know about it, it’s a problem for us, so come talk to us, let us know. At the end of the day, that’s our job—to support you.”

That’s a language anyone can understand.

Topics

student government

Center of Community Engagement and Civic Learning CECiL

�鶹��Ƶ welcomes its largest, most diverse freshman class to date at New Student Convocation

Colleen Rich — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 20:30:51 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ welcomes its largest, most diverse freshman class to date at New Student Convocation Colleen Rich Fri, 08/19/2022 - 16:30

In This Story

Gregory Washington

President Gregory Washington at the 2022 New Student Convocation at EagleBank Arena. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

�鶹��Ƶ President Gregory Washington welcomed thousands of new students Friday by informing them they had already made two of the most important decisions of their lives—whether and where to go to college.

“I contend to you, these are great choices!” Washington told the newest Patriots at a spirited New Student Convocation at EagleBank Arena. �鶹��Ƶ this fall welcomes the largest (about 4,200) and most diverse freshman class in its history.

Washington rattled off several points to support his contention—the opportunity to work alongside world-class faculty at a top research university, diverse student demographics that resemble what the country will soon look like, bountiful internship and job opportunities in the Washington, D.C., region, and a host of others.

“They’re all keys to your success,” Washington said, with special shout-outs to first-generation students and community college transfers. “Just take a key and open a door…. �鶹��Ƶ is a place where the only limits are the limits you place on yourself.”

Students learn the Fight Song at New Student Convocation. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

Provost Mark Ginsberg posed a question to the students, asking, “Do you know what time it is? It’s �鶹��Ƶ’s Time,” he said to cheers. “It’s also another time. It’s your time. It’s your time to explore. It’s your time to meet new friends. It’s your time to learn new things. And it’s your time to push yourself to new heights.”

Faculty keynote speaker Karen Akerlof, assistant professor in the College of Science, encouraged the students to engage in “good trouble” by determining what social changes they would like to see on campus, in their hometowns, or even nationally or internationally, and what actions they can take to help achieve them.

To spur opportunities for student impact, Akerlof said the Office of Community Engagement and Civic Learning (CECIL) will host monthly hour-long “community conversation circles” throughout the fall semester.

�鶹��Ƶ student body president Sophia Nguyen told students to be open to new experiences. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

“You don’t have to wait until you come back here for graduation in your robes to start thinking about and acting on the ways in which you want to make an impact on the world,” Akerlof said. “Both in and outside of the classroom, this university is a place where you can explore these questions, work with others, and make your voices heard.”

Doc Nix and the Green Machine surely got the students to make their voices heard in a different context—by teaching them the university fight song and making a date to meet back up at EagleBank Arena on October 14 to kick off basketball season with �鶹��Ƶ Madness.

�鶹��Ƶ student body president Sophia Nguyen recalled feeling confused and overwhelmed, yet eager, as a first-year �鶹��Ƶ student, but said she soon busied herself in various campus activities.

Students show off their new �鶹��Ƶ hoodies. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

“You’ll find that there’s always something every day for everyone here at �鶹��Ƶ,” said Nguyen, who held a White House internship this summer. “You just have to be open to finding it.”

Washington emphasized to the incoming students to be mindful of their mental health and to take advantage of the many resources available to help them.

“Remember one thing,” he said. “You are not alone. You are never alone—even if you might feel that way sometimes. This is indeed a family, and you are a part of that family.

“Our faculty, staff, students and alumni—we all take care of each other. And we’re going to take care of you, too.”

Topics

Campus News

New Student Convocation

Green Machine

This first-gen student plans to give back in a unique way

Colleen Rich — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 17:47:33 +0000

This first-gen student plans to give back in a unique way Colleen Rich Tue, 08/16/2022 - 13:47

Meet the Class of 2026

Freshman Joshua Dias has long been a part of the �鶹��Ƶ Nation
October 13, 2022
�鶹��Ƶ was the university next door, now it’s this freshman’s home
September 15, 2022
Incoming Patriot leaps from high school to her sophomore year of college
August 31, 2022
Another chance to lead for �鶹��Ƶ volleyball star
August 30, 2022
Incoming freshman is determined to be heard
August 23, 2022

Dayana Cespedes-Mendoza. Photo provided

For as long as she can remember, Dayana Cespedes-Mendoza has had an interest in architecture.

“Whenever my family would go on drives, I’d look at different houses, buildings and bridges, just to admire them,” she said. “I was always intrigued with how those things were built.”

Add her skills in math and physics, and the incoming freshman at �鶹��Ƶ said she could not imagine majoring in anything other than civil, environmental and infrastructure engineering.

Especially considering her goal of building houses for her mother and father in their home countries of Peru and Bolivia, respectively.

“If I become a civil engineer or an architect, I can do that,” Cespedes-Mendoza said.

Cespedes-Mendoza has been familiar with �鶹��Ƶ for more than five years through her participation in �鶹��Ƶ’s Early Identification Program (EIP) for first-generation college-bound students. Her mother urged Cespedes-Mendoza to join the program as an eighth grader at Williamsburg Middle School in Arlington, Virginia.

“Thanks to EIP, I had a smoother process when it came to college applications,” said Cespedes-Mendoza, who is a member of �鶹��Ƶ’s Honors College and a University Scholar. “The program has helped me with things that my parents wouldn’t have known, so I’m extremely grateful.”

Keiry Chicas, an academic success coach and senior transition specialist for EIP, praised Cespedes-Mendoza’s hard work and dedication.

“Since the first day I met her, she was always attentive and persistent with her work, which has allowed her to keep moving beyond what is expected,” Chicas said. “I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.”

In high school, Cespedes-Mendoza completed an internship with a house remodeling company in Arlington.

“I got to go onto an actual house site and talk to the workers, and they would teach me what they were doing,” she said. “This opportunity allowed me to have more insight into construction and the environment it holds.”

Her father, who works in construction, also taught her how to fix things around the house while growing up, she said. “I loved to help him out.”

Cespedes-Mendoza said she’s ready to embark on this next stage of her academic journey—and she's sure �鶹��Ƶ is the place to do it.

An informal campus tour she took in April, led by an older student who’s also a University Scholar, solidified that decision.

“I remember campus was so lively, everyone was really happy, and there was just a lot of movement going on,” she said.

Another notable benefit, Cespedes-Mendoza said, is the diversity she saw while walking around campus—something she said was missing at her high school.

“�鶹��Ƶ looked like a school I wanted to go to,” she said. “I felt like �鶹��Ƶ could be home.”

Cespedes-Mendoza said she’s excited to join �鶹��Ƶ’s Society of Women Engineers and get involved with any Peruvian or Bolivian-oriented student organizations.

“I know I’ll love it at �鶹��Ƶ,” she said.

Topics

Early Identification Program (EIP)

University Scholars

College of Engineering and Computing

�鶹��Ƶ’s STEP program helps first-generation students get ready for the college experience

Colleen Rich — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 15:23:14 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ’s STEP program helps first-generation students get ready for the college experience Colleen Rich Tue, 08/16/2022 - 11:23

Meet the Class of 2026

Freshman Joshua Dias has long been a part of the �鶹��Ƶ Nation
October 13, 2022
�鶹��Ƶ was the university next door, now it’s this freshman’s home
September 15, 2022
Incoming Patriot leaps from high school to her sophomore year of college
August 31, 2022
Another chance to lead for �鶹��Ƶ volleyball star
August 30, 2022
Incoming freshman is determined to be heard
August 23, 2022

From left, �鶹��Ƶ incoming freshmen Jacie Hernandez, Linh Vu, and Neyda Gonzalez spent six weeks on campus this summer as a part of the Student Transition Empowerment Program (STEP). Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Linh Vu, a recent graduate of Lake Braddock High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, spent six weeks this summer living on �鶹��Ƶ’s Fairfax Campus preparing for her first year of college.

Vu, who plans to study nursing, attended �鶹��Ƶ’s Student Transition Empowerment Program’s (STEP) Summer, a residential program for incoming �鶹��Ƶ first-year students who are also first-generation. Participants, who are selected through an application process, live on campus and participate in a variety of workshops and activities aimed at helping them navigate college and build a support system. They also earn three college credits.

“I’m going to be a commuter student; I was worried about being part of the community. But now, because of being in this program, I already feel a part of it,” Vu said. “Through STEP, I got a chance to understand �鶹��Ƶ better.”

STEP is an initiative of the First-Gen + Center created to enhance the recruitment, engagement and retention of first-generation college students. Its mission is to empower first-generation students through academic skill development, access to resources, community building and self-discovery. This year, the summer program had 37 student participants and 10 staff members, all of whom also were or are first-generation college students themselves. The program, free to participating students, is funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Kelsey Ruiz, a STEP Summer staff member, said that first-generation college students often struggle because they don’t have the advantage of parents who have experienced college and understand how it works. In addition, first-generation college students can come from lower-income circumstances.

“While they are at STEP Summer, the students are getting the best of the college experience. It is an opportunity not to worry about food or housing insecurity,” said Ruiz. “Students also go on activities together and have critical community dialogue sessions about identity and respecting themselves and each other.”

Neyda Gonzalez, who graduated from Justice High School in Fairfax County, said she’s grateful for the opportunity through STEP Summer to meet other students before the fall semester.

“I was worried I would feel alone, but now I’ve already started making friends and memories,” Gonzalez, who plans to study accounting. “STEP helped me understand and get to know other first-generation students who are different from myself. That’s important because �鶹��Ƶ is such a diverse school, and now I feel like I will be able to connect with more people because I’ve already experienced the diversity in STEP.”

STEP evolved to its current format and structure from the initial Student Transition Program, started in 1990 to increase college access and retention for Virginia Black, Hispanic and Latino college students, according to Amber Holton-Thomas, director of the First-Gen+ Center.

“Students who participate in STEP have six weeks together, gain college credits, and build community,” said Holton-Thomas. “The most valuable aspect is that the program doesn't end after summer, but instead is a multi-year support initiative. STEP Scholars have support, programming and scholarships throughout their entire time at �鶹��Ƶ."

Jacie Hernandez, who graduated from Liberty High School in Fauquier County, plans to study computer game design at �鶹��Ƶ. Hernandez said STEP Summer helped with anticipating what the fall semester might be like.

“It was an honor to be part of the program,” Hernandez said. “I feel ready to start the next chapter of my life.”

Topics

Student Transition Empowerment Program STEP

first-generation

College of Health and Human Services

First Gen + Center

This EMT is furthering her passion for medicine at �鶹��Ƶ

Colleen Rich — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 15:50:30 +0000

This EMT is furthering her passion for medicine at �鶹��Ƶ Colleen Rich Mon, 08/15/2022 - 11:50

Over the next two weeks, we will be profiling students from this fall's incoming class as a part of the series Meet the Class of 2026.

Incoming freshman Jennifer Owen (left) with Purcellville Volunteer Rescue Squad teammates Victoria Frank and Dave Rubal. Photo provided

Following her junior year of high school, Jennifer Owen started working in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

“For some people, it sounds a little crazy because I was a 17-year-old riding in an ambulance,” Owen said.

But she absolutely loved it.

The experience in EMS has “helped me completely decide that I like pursuing medicine,” Owen said. “I want to be a nurse. I like medicine, and I love helping people.”

As someone who works well under pressure, Owen’s ultimate goal is to become a critical care nurse, working on a medical helicopter or in the cardiac care unit.

For this incoming freshman, �鶹��Ƶ’s School of Nursing is her next step in making that a reality.

Owen said that when a fellow EMT recommended �鶹��Ƶ’s School of Nursing because of its advanced programs, and its role in, as she said, “advocating for you to become the best health care provider you can be,” she was excited to attend as a nursing major.

She is especially enthusiastic about joining �鶹��Ƶ’s American Medical Women’s Association, a female-run organization focused on empowering women in the medical field and advocating for female patients and women’s health.

“I am a female, Asian, young EMT, and you never see that on an ambulance,” Owen said. “I think this group that I’ve joined will try to change that or at least bring awareness to it.”

Owen began her EMS work at a young age as a student at the Academies of Loudoun, part of Loudoun County Public Schools.

There, she participated in the EMT program and received her Virginia EMT certification and National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) certification.

At the Academies of Loudoun, she also completed the Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) program, and in March worked as a nurse’s aide in a nursing home.

Because she worked toward her certifications during the COVID-19 pandemic, the work was “crazy” and “hard,” she said. “We had limited clinical hours and really limited ability to do practicals.”

The transition to the field was even more difficult.

“I knew how to treat someone, and I knew a lot of textbook stuff, but I didn't know a whole lot about actually working in the field,” Owen said. “I had to relearn a lot.”

Her hard work paid off when one of her instructors, who was also the sitting executive president at Purcellville Volunteer Rescue Squad in Purcellville, Virginia, urged her to join their team in 2021, she said.

Owen has worked with Purcellville Rescue at least once a week for more than a year. She now serves as a released attendant-in-charge, which means she is primarily responsible for the provision of emergency medical care on her ambulance.

“Jennifer has grown into an exceptional EMT and brings a tremendous amount of patience and compassion to her service to her patients,” said Kevin Kelly, chief of Purcellville Rescue. “As a volunteer, Jennifer has amazing dedication and a willingness to give her time to the community, which is exemplary.”

Owen said she’ll continue working with Purcellville Rescue while completing her nursing degree at �鶹��Ƶ.

“I’m not ready to give up Purcellville Rescue or EMS yet,” she said.

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School of Nursing