Samantha

Samantha is a first generation student and rising sophomore at Colorado College who is undeclared with her major, but plans to study sociology and Spanish. As a first generation student who has experienced additional barriers on her path to degree completion, she recognizes that “one of the biggest issues minority students face is not being heard by the institution”. Samantha keeps organization and academic planning in high regard because it allows her to manage working two jobs and school work simultaneously. She was only introduced to Stellic recently, but was happy to see that the interface looked similar to her previous color coded planning method. Having that degree vision has empowered Samantha to make a blueprint for future years. She expressed that time management and peace of mind are Stellic’s greatest contribution to her success.

Other factors have been equally as important for her confidence in her degree plan. Samantha has benefitted from the reassurance of academic advisors: her high school advisor works with Colorado College and gave her guidance for the challenging high school to college transition. Her academic advisor reassures her degree plan and provides course suggestions to help Samantha stay on track -- “at times academic planning did feel isolating and frustrating to some extent, but I still had a lot of support around me which I really appreciate”. While Samantha has found a good support system at Colorado College, she emphasized that fewer of her fellow minority peers have as solid of a foundation at their institutions. Student-facing platforms such as Stellic provide personalized academic support through planning and advising channels.