Sunday-past, Saint John’s University’s 159th graduating class began its next voyage. Wearing the familiar hood of cardinal red and blue, the 377 seniors processed, as they have for decades, from the Mary Hall staging area into the magisterial Abbey and University church.
Among those graduating were many first generation students — young men whose parents never attended college or who may have spent some time at a community college or trade school. Once that was the situation of most students at Saint John’s, including most of the members of my own class of 1958. That’s not been the case for many years, however; but the situation is evolving. To address that development Saint John’s has inaugurated the FirstGen Scholarship program, and three scholarship recipients marched last weekend to claim their diplomas.
Jake Schultz was an English major from Maple Grove, MN. While at Saint John’s he co-founded and produced The Huddle, was the editor-in-chief of The Record and did play-by-play for several sports on KJNB. He carved out time to study abroad in the Roman-Greco program, and during the summer of 2014 he was the Gary Eichten Fellow at Minnesota Public Radio. He will soon begin his journalism career as a general assignment reporter for the West Central Tribune in Willmar, MN.
Sam Sura was an accounting major from South St. Paul, and he ended his football career at Saint John’s with twelve school rushing records. Among them were the career marks for rushing yardage and rushing attempts, and he tied the school mark with 48 touchdown runs and 18 100-yard games. Last summer he was an International Tax Associate intern for RSM in Minneapolis, and he returns to RSM to begin his career shortly.
Jake Wagner, an integrative health science major from Blue Earth, MN, worked in the writing center while at Saint John’s. He also completed a community service project for the University of Minnesota’s Rural Dental program, and he’s been accepted into the program there this fall. He completed a May Term in Spain, was an Alternative Break Experience volunteer in Ecuador this past March, volunteered for a Special Olympics bowling program and was a Hospice volunteer.
The FirstGen initiative was a dream of Brother Dietrich Reinhart, and members of the Board of Regents, alumni and friends of Saint John’s have underwritten the first stage of the program. With an initial endowment goal of $50 million, we are now closing in on $9 million. Obviously, as the number of first generation applicants to Saint John’s grows significantly, substantial growth in the fund will be necessary to make the University accessible to promising young men who will follow in the steps of Jake, Sam and Jake.
A FirstGen Scholarship provides tuition assistance as well as academic and student support services to students who are the first in their families to go to college. For many this aid is the crucial piece that makes Saint John’s affordable, and the goal is to graduate a student in four years, with under $20,000 in student loans. Since 2011 Saint John’s has awarded FirstGen Scholarships to 21 students, and of that number 19 have persisted to graduation, while one will take a 9th semester.
For the fall of 2015 Saint John’s accepted 293 first generation students, and 111 enrolled. That semester five students received FirstGen Scholarships, and all five will continue into their sophomore year. Of the 300 first generation students who applied for admission for the fall of 2016, nine have been offered FirstGen Scholarships.
[Editor’s note: Please consider a gift to support the FirstGen campaign. Whether cash or a planned gift, your generosity will help to insure that Saint John’s remains accessible to a new generation of Johnnies. You may call or contact Fr. Eric Hollas or one of the major gift officers in the Office of Institutional Advancement at Saint John’s.]