Thanks to her high school guidance counselor, Mohamud found her way to St. Thomas. She had only been in the U.S. less than a year – arriving with her family from Kenya in 2016 – when she enrolled in 12th grade and soon had to make decisions about attending college.
“I didn’t have any hopes of being anything.” In May, she graduated with a family studies major and social work minor. “Being the first in my entire family to get a college education in the United States is super exciting.” Along with her parents and DFC, she thanks the nonprofit College Possible, which helps diverse students find pathways to higher education. “It was my College Possible coach in my senior year of high school who told me about DFC,” said Saucedo, who attended Washington Technology Magnet School in east St. Paul. “I’ve always been that child where people say, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ I met with her every Tuesday and Thursday after school, applying to colleges and applying for scholarships. I thought it was like a joke to be a part of this program because my parents didn’t have any money, not even a dollar in their bank account for me to go to college. I’d be down in the dumps because though the name is ‘college possible’ I was just like ‘It’s not going to happen for me.’”
“Everything was overwhelming,” Mohamud said. “My counselor guided me when I was anxious all the time.”
Mohamud had applied to a mix of state
universities, community colleges and
private schools – nine in all. St. Thomas originally didn’t make the list.
“I didn’t know if I could afford St. Thomas,” she said. Then one day, driving on their way to tour a different school, her counselor gestured toward
St. Thomas. “I know it’s expensive to go here,” Mohamud recalled him saying, “but they’re starting a program for people like you who can’t afford the full tuition.” The next day, Mohamud applied to the Dougherty Family College. “I was a little skeptical, but he knew it was going to open doors for me after I got my two-year degree, and so I went for it and it was something that I could afford,” said Mohamud. Discovering possibilities When Saucedo was five years old, she and her family emigrated from the rural area of Durango, Mexico. She said she used to neglect her homework when she was younger because
But her coach was always in her corner.
“She reassured me that anything is possible for anybody,” Saucedo said. “If she hadn’t told me about DFC, I really would not have committed to any college just because of the money. I really don’t know what I would’ve done because I had no plan. Now I have an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree and hopefully in a few years, I’ll have a master’s degree.” n
Additional reporting by Emilie Dozer ’21.
3 2
S U M M E R 2 1
Powered by FlippingBook