Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Higher Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Millersville University financial aid director recounts first-generation struggles, vows ongoing support for Spanish-speaking students
Summary
An unnamed Millersville University director of financial aid described her path from a first-generation student to university financial-aid director and said she meets monthly with students — including Spanish speakers — to help with financial aid and basic needs.
An unnamed Millersville University director of financial aid told a recorded meeting that she began as a first-generation college student who relied on long hours of tutoring and campus mentors before returning to campus staff and eventually becoming director.
"Being a first generation college student was a difficult journey," the director said, adding that she tutored two to three hours a day as an undergraduate and worried about her family back home in Puerto Rico. "My days consisted of going to class, going to work, and going to tutoring. I was constantly thinking about my family back home. How are they doing? How are my parents doing?"
The director said a campus mentor, Dwight Horsey, helped her navigate financial challenges and later connected her to a graduate assistant position in the financial aid office. She said portability of financial aid was an issue when she returned to Millersville University to pursue a master's degree and that contacting Horsey led to an interview and hire as a graduate assistant.
She described stepping into an office need on a temporary basis during her last semester as a graduate student and later becoming the director of financial aid. "My success is their success," she said of her parents, and described the role as an opportunity to "help others like me."
On a practical level, the director said she meets with students monthly to discuss financial aid and check on basic needs. "Other times I just wanna know how are you doing? Did you eat today?" she said, adding that some students face circumstances similar to her own and that speaking Spanish has helped her connect with them.
The remarks in the meeting transcript focused on the director's personal experience and the office's student-facing work; the transcript records no formal motions or votes related to the comments.
No speaker name was provided in the transcript; the remarks identify the speaker only by role and affiliation.
