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Spring 2023

First-generation students

Fall 2021

TRIO stories

The academic pipeline serving low-income and first-generation students at Washington State University has many success stories.

WSU alumni of TRIO programs tell about their paths after Washington State.

 

Ariana Garcia (’16 Socio.) — McNair as a Gateway to Research (Council of Graduate Schools GradImpact spotlight, 2021)

Cristal Reyna Thompson (’13 Microbiol.) — Doctoral success for a McNair alumna at the University of Notre Dame and beyond

A talk with Ivan Valdovinos

Ivan Valdovinos (’15 English, Spanish) came from the small town of Soap Lake to Wenatchee Valley Community College and then Washington State University. He was first … » More …

First Words
Summer 2017

Left turns

I recently learned that drivers for UPS make 90 percent of their turns to the right. Since 2004, the package delivery company has had a policy to avoid left turns. They save millions of gallons of fuel and dollars each year because there’s less idling.

While I applaud the UPS effort to save gas and reduce emissions, there’s still something adventurous about the left turn, the unexpected veer in a new direction. We often refer to a left turn as a complete shift in our lives. Some of us even change our entire careers, such as Washington State University alumni Berenice Burdet, Richard Larsen, and … » More …

Summer 2017

We’re number one

My name is Krystle Lyric Arnold and I am a first-generation college student.

To nearly 70 percent of the college population nationwide, those words mean little, but to those of us who are the first in our immediate families to pursue a college degree, the description carries weight, and for good reason.

Nearly 90 percent of first-gen students fail to obtain their college degrees. The majority of first-gen students are also low-income and the U.S. Department of Education says only 9 percent of students from the lowest income brackets graduate with a four-year degree, whether or not they are first-gen.

While everyone has their own … » More …