the pasT: vICTORIA HERNANDEZ
“Thinking toward what I want to do in the future has always motivated me," Victoria Hernandez, a 17-year-old junior at Storm Lake High School said. "I love thinking about who I can turn out to be."
Living in a small-town Storm Lake her whole life, Hernandez believes in family values, taking a leap towards new adventures, and working her hardest to eventually become what she has always dreamed of being, a teacher.
Gaining support from home, Hernandez admired her mother’s previous work as a college professor in Mexico before she moved to Iowa years later. Today, Hernandez’ mother is a social worker and continues helping and bettering individuals lives.
Before she became a high school football cheerleader and swim team member, Hernandez looked for relationships outside of her family for support. Hearing about a program called “BV Buddies,” she instantly became interested and stumbled across two friendships that encouraged her to become involved in school and look forward to life outside of high school.
BV Buddies is an organization that pairs Buena Vista University students with middle and high schoolers in Storm Lake. The organization helps build relationships and friendships for those who are looking for a genuine friend or role model. Hernandez was in fifth grade when she heard of BV Buddies and was immediately interested in learning more about the experience.
“I had friends throughout elementary school who had mentors and just thought it would be a super cool experience,” Hernandez said.
She has been involved since, meeting two separate mentors who have both started at BVU and eventually graduated at the university.
Hernandez’ first mentor was Serena Geisinger, a mentor who she considered fun and someone who pushed her to become more involved throughout her school. Following Geisinger’s graduation, Hernandez entered high school and gained a new mentor, Mary Timko.
(Hernandez (left), Timko (right)
Interested in developing a relationship with other members of the community, Timko decided to join BV Buddies her freshmen year at BVU in hopes of finding someone she could help.
It was September of 2013 when Timko was introduced to Hernandez, who later became her ‘BV Buddy’.
“She (Hernandez) had told Angie that she didn’t want a new mentor because her old mentor had just graduated and they were really close,” Timko said. “When the school year started she changed her mind -- Angie knew we would be a great match.”
Since the two have busy schedules, the duo try to meet every two weeks when they learned more about each other's backgrounds, drew, did homework together and even endured a baking fail, Timko jokes.
Timko is thankful for the relationship she’s developed since they met three years ago.
“Victoria and I are similar in a lot of ways,” Timko said. “She is kind of quiet at first, but is easy to talk to when you get to know her. She is creative, bright, and has a huge heart. She also is extremely optimistic and brings out the best in me.”
While Hernandez will be graduating high school within the next year, and Timko will graduate this year, she believes her BV Buddies experience has taught her a lot about herself.
“Having both of my mentors was very positive for me,” Hernandez said. “I loved having people to look up to and eventually have a positive college experience like theirs.”
Besides participating in BV Buddies for seven years, Hernandez currently is a football cheerleader as well as a member of the Storm Lake High School swim team. She believes her swim coach has done a great deal to help her work through the anxiety of picking the “right” college.
“My former swimming coach, Mary Mooney, has been a huge help this past year letting me intern with her and really sorting out any help I could get so I can go to UNI,” Hernandez said. “It’s really great to have support from those who have helped me get here and their support will hopefully let me go further.”
The PRESENT
THE FUTURE
Post-high school, Hernandez plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in the fall of 2017, where she will pursue a career in teaching. While her original plan was to challenge herself by attending an out-of-state college, she believes UNI will be her perfect fit.
“I’m really looking forward to being on my own for awhile; I like to be very independent and I think UNI is the right fit when wanting to be away but not too far away,” Hernandez said.
Much like Hernandez, fellow Storm Lake students are taking into account the different universities as they consider their college choices. Of the students surveyed in for this project, many plan, like Hernandez to attend an in-state school.
Other students plan on community college or private college, and still others are still in the planning and deciding stages. Although students have expressed excitement in starting their adventure, a common worry amongst the crowd is the amount of debt they may face in the future.
The Institute for College Access & Success compared the prices of Iowa college by size, graduation rate, and salary after attending the university as a way to inform onlookers of the expected success-rate or whether or not the specific institution is right for them.
For some, the programs offered at the university are enough to pull them in, despite the money they will have to spend on their education.
the past : LUKE MCPHERREN
“It's interesting how the numbers in science explain our world and come together,” Luke McPherren, an 18-year-old Storm Lake high school student explains.
For McPherren, Iowa State University offers him the clear path to success because of its successful engineering program and the opportunity it offers him to further expand his love of science and math. McPherren was in middle school when his guidance counselor mentioned the option of planning a future around engineering, a program that combines both mathematical and science skills.
Although McPherren doesn’t exactly know why he’s interested in the two subjects, he finds himself itching to solve its problems.
“The more you know, the more powerful you are," McPherren says, glancing around the dimly lit college room.
THE PRESENT
For incoming students, Iowa State University provides blurbs for those who are interested in a specific pathway. The graphic below details the “undecided” major that McPherren is hoping to take in order to explore his options.
Since McPherren is undecided, he believes he will get a chance to explore different pathways in order to become a specific engineer.
Gretchen Hanson, an Admission Counselor at Iowa State University, explains the process McPherren will have to go through in order to prepare for his time at the university.
Once a student has decided to accept at a university, they are then instructed to sign up and attend an orientation the summer prior to their arrival. Before they are set to attend orientation, students must submit all transcripts, complete the online foreign language placement, as well as the math assessment.
Once they arrive, students will get the chance to fill out billing, meet with a number of individuals on the Ames campus, ranging from fraternities and sororities while embarking on a tour of the university. According to Hanson, summer orientation sessions are where students will receive the bulk of information about the university they plan to attend.
Iowa State University currently offers 840 clubs to its students where they’re able to dive into a new interest, meet individuals associated with their major, and ultimately join a club that will later benefit in their desired major. Hanson says that McPherren will more than likely join the Academic Club of Engineering without Borders, “a non-profit, humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities in order to improve their quality of life.”
While college may seem like a whole new world at first, Hanson advises this of students who are contemplating college or have ever accepted an offer at a university: “Don’t be afraid to ask questions.”
The now - STORM LAKE HIGH SCHOOL
Hernandez and McPherren are heading off to college shortly, showcasing a new time at Storm Lake High School where graduation rates are on the rise and drop-out rates are beginning to decrease. According to a recent article in the Storm Lake Pilot Tribune, Storm Lake High School is beginning to have an increasing number of graduates.
Facing issues with graduation rates in the past, the school is beginning to catch up to the state average of 92.1% graduating, compared to its now 90.1% graduating rate, according to the Pilot Tribune. The average is calculated by dividing the number of freshmen class versus those who walk across the stage in May after their senior year.
For some, education is embedded in their blood, creating a piece of themselves they cannot leave behind. For some, learning is much more than attending class.
“Hard work can get you pretty far,” McPherron said. “After college – I’ll never stop learning.”
Increasing the statistic
Story by Kiley Wellendorf, Kaylie Plowman, Eric Powers, Gibson Berns
Victoria Hernandez and Luke McPherren are classmates. Two individuals who walk the halls among a sea of students who eventually hope to better their academics and build a bright future. However, some Storm Lake students are not able to cross the finish line that is graduation. Some have moved, dropped out, or lost their desire to learn and further their education. Hernandez and McPherren are breaking determined not to be one of those statistics and plan to receive their cap in gown. They are both dreamers and doers, two fighters who are dedicated to increasing the graduation rate and decreasing the drop-out rate at SLHS. Before they decided to pursue a higher education, both Hernandez and McPherren detail who inspired them, what they're interested in pursing, and what they hope their lives will ideally look like. This is what hard work entails.
With hopes of receiving the best education she can, Hernandez debated attending an out-of-state school versus attending an in-state institution. Today, she has decided to stay within state boundaries and later live in a different state.
THE FUTURE
Information gathered from online survey of 53 SLHS students enrolled in AP Language Arts, 2016