Marcos Cadenas, IDEA Alumni Spotlight

IDEA ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:

Marcos Cadenas

As a 2018 graduate of IDEA Mission and a first-generation college student, Marcos Cadenas recalls all the help he received on his journey to college and hopes to pay it forward in any way he can.

Cadenas is a junior at Wabash College in Indiana, majoring in economics with a minor in religion. But his journey to college began with a single question. During his sophomore year of high school, he received a letter in the mail from Wabash College, asking, “What kind of man do you want to be?”

The question stuck with him as he imagined the kind of man he wanted to become. He shared the letter with his college counselor who set up a visit to the private, liberal arts men’s college to learn more. After visiting, he knew immediately it was the place for him.

“The support and motivation at that time was critical,” he said. “To have a mentor guiding me through it was a life-changing experience because IDEA wanted me to succeed.” When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Cadenas felt the struggles of online learning like many other college students. In addition to adjusting to this new reality, his parents sold their home and moved back to Mexico amid the political climate in the U.S. concerning immigration. Though he has not seen his parents in over a year, he remains positive and hopeful.

Today he balances his studies while serving as an Alumni Funding Fellow at IDEA where he encourages other alumni to work as hard as they can to reach their goals.

He says his Wabash College family has become like a surrogate family, as they support each other through personal challenges and encourage each other to succeed in college and beyond. Cadenas says his college brings out the best in him and reminds him of his time at IDEA in many ways.

“It feels like a family, honestly, and I am becoming the best version of myself. That sense of community, that brotherhood, and that shared mission, it’s why I fell in love with college.”