iStock by Getty Images
The Immokalee-Collegeville Partnership: Building
Opening When Saint John’s University freshman Osbaldo Matias was younger, his father encouraged him to do well in school so he would not have to become a picker. Both of his parents had worked picking fruits and vegetables after immigrating to Immokalee, Fla., where the vast fields and the pickers’ arduous work provide a large amount of the United States’ fresh produce.
That’s how a Hispanic kid from one of the poorest areas in the United States suddenly found himself with the opportunity to reach for his dreams at Saint John’s. “I have the chance to be the first in my family to be something more … to have a job I want to do,” Matias said. “I want to do this not only for myself and my family but to prove for my town that we can do this. I am very proud to have been chosen for this scholarship.”
Matias’ parents didn’t have the chance to go to college or even graduate from high school. “That was my motivation,” Matias said.
Matias is one of four students at Saint John’s from Immokalee as recipients of the Rose Marie Lyden and Joananne Argus Marshall Scholarship, which is named in memory of each donor’s spouse and will eventually fund the education of eight students—maybe more. The scholarship assists Saint John’s in meeting its goal of making college accessible and affordable to academically qualified, low-income, firstgeneration students.
He worked hard in high school, achieving a 3.9 GPA and making National Honor Society while playing four years of lacrosse, doing community service work and participating in the Beta Club and Key Club. He applied to and was accepted at four colleges in Florida, but when he heard about a small liberal arts college founded by Benedictines in Minnesota that was offering a scholarship to students from Immokalee High School, the community atmosphere of the smaller school appealed to him.
First-generation students are typically defined nationally and at Saint John’s as students whose parents have not completed a baccalaureate degree. That total includes many students whose parents’ education concluded with high school. Given
Above right: Osbaldo Matias ’20 (from left), Jaime Vega ’19, Stanley Rhau ’20 and Alex Guzman ’19 are attending Saint John’s University as recipients of the Rose Marie Lyden and Joananne Argus Marshall Scholarship, which helps SJU achieve its goal of making college affordable for academically qualified, low-income, first-generation students.
14 WINTER/SPRING 2017