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First-generation student Michelle Alvarado began her University of North Georgia (¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ) journey through college with the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) on the Gainesville Campus, where she received coaching, mentorship, and a recruitment internship.

"I would go to high schools and try to recruit students to come to ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ," Alvarado said.

She then joined the McNair Scholars Program with the goal of continuing her education to the doctoral level. The McNair Program is designed to prepare sophomores, juniors and seniors from all ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ campuses for post-graduate studies through involvement in research and scholarly activities. Participants are either first-generation college students with financial need or members of a group traditionally underrepresented in graduate education who have shown strong academic potential.

Alvarado credited her mentors, Dr. Tanya Bennett and Dr. Valerie Surrett and Alejandra Cruz, interim associate director of the High School Equivalency Program (HEP) at ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ. Bennett and Surrett are faculty members in the English Department. The Cornelia, Georgia, resident earned a bachelor's degree in English degree with a literature concentration in December 2022.

"They've been very supportive of me, helping me with research and learning more about academia," Alvarado said.

These mentors contributed to her interest in studying multicultural literature including Chicano, Mexican, and Mexican American literature, something Alvarado hopes to teach one day.

"The help that I've gotten with these programs at ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ really has helped me flourish as a leader, as a student, and somebody who's going into the world of the academia because ideally, I want to be an English professor teaching Mexican American literature," Alvarado said.

As a recipient of the Goizueta Foundation Scholarship, Alvarado was able to focus more on academics and let go of a part-time job she had taken to fund expenses like books, gas, and electronics.

Alvarado was grateful for the support she has received and wants to give back to the Nighthawk community. She also served as a peer mentor for CAMP.

"It is really important for me to go back because I wanted to make a difference for the students," Alvarado said. "After everything I've accomplished, I want to give thanks to CAMP because they saw a leader in me. They saw the potential in me."