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Briana Morales ’21, ’24

Briana Morales ’21, ’24 holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. She will graduate in May of 2024 with a Master of Science in counseling from the Simmons School of Education and Human Development. She plans to pursue a career in counseling and offer services that integrate animal therapy.

After struggling through her first two semesters at SMU, balancing multiple jobs, lacking family support and performing below her academic potential, SMU alum Briana Morales ’21, ’24 considered giving up on her SMU degree. But an email inviting all first-gen students to the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) landed in her inbox and changed her outlook.

The email connected her to Matthew Robinson, director of Student Persistence and Achievement at ACE, who linked her with programs and resources that helped her academically, financially and socially.

“Just having one person believe in me and want me to succeed in what I wanted to do was huge for me. I had never had that at that level before,” Morales says. “It helped me start to believe in myself, and that changed everything.”

She found an on-campus job to replace one of her three off-campus jobs, freeing her to be more involved on campus. ACE became her hub, providing a private Scholar’s Den study space – a place to be around students who share similar backgrounds, learn about campus activities, connect with tutors and print papers for free.

Abena Marfo ’22

SMU senior Abena Marfo ’22 will graduate this May with three degrees: a B.S. in sociology, B.S. in health and society and B.A. in human rights. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in public health and potentially a Ph.D., with the aim of a career in public health policy. During her time at SMU, she has been a Crum Commons residential assistant, an Undergraduate Admission student ambassador, a Rotunda Scholar Fellow, a Human Rights Fellow and an Engaged Learning Fellow with research focusing on maternal health care and its intersection with race and socioeconomic status.

“Before, I felt like I should make myself smaller, but that has shifted through the aid of First-Gen Association,” says First-Generation Association member Abena Marfo ’22.

Even as a member of Rotunda Scholars, a program that aims to help traditionally underrepresented first-year students achieve early success at SMU, she felt different, identifying as a “minority” and “low-income.”

“I was very scared to ask questions, because I thought I should be very humble and thankful that I’m even here,” explains Abena. “It’s important to have a place that’s curated specifically for first-gen students – students who are statistically proven to have a hard time transitioning into the SMU campus life and college life in general. Now I know that I am able speak up. I can use the resources and not feel guilty.”

Cinthia Resendiz ’21, ’22

SMU alum Cinthia Resendiz ’21, ’22 is pursuing an M.S. in accounting at the Cox School of Business and serves as a Student Persistence and Achievement graduate assistant. After graduation in May, she will start a career in public accounting in the audit department of PwC. She holds a BBA in accounting and B.A. in Spanish. While a student at SMU, she was a BBA Scholar, Mustang Scholar and Rotunda Scholar.

Cinthia Resendiz ’21, ’22 says her involvement in the Rotunda Scholars program helped her learn how to embrace the college experience. As an undergraduate commuter student, she did not have the first-year dorm experience or the constant influx of social information that comes with it. Instead, her Rotunda friends became a lifeline to campus involvement. If not for the connections she made through them, she says she may have missed out on some of her favorite SMU memories like Homecoming and the Boulevard.

“It’s nice to be told to strive for more – do more than go to school and go home; do more than take a test and go home,” says Cinthia. “It really helped me be a part of the community and feel that I was welcomed into the SMU community as well.”