About Janelle

As the first in my family to go away to a four-year university, I had to figure most of it out by myself. I made the decision to go to college to find a better future; a future that didn’t involve drugs, violence or abuse. On the outside it looked like I was a young, smart, ambitious girl who was ready to conquer the world, but on the inside I was a young girl who lacked confidence with low self-esteem and who was still grieving the death of my mother who passed two days before my 17th birthday. I also lacked financial literacy skills along with the support and guidance that is crucial to any young person making life-changing decisions. They say that experience is the best teacher and I made all of the mistakes a college student could make:

• skipped classes
• failed tests I never even studied for
• received my first C grade (I had all As and Bs in high school)
• stayed up for three days straight studying for finals
• took out all the loan money offered to me
• maxed out credit cards and missed payments
• unpaid university bill almost got me kicked out the dorms my first semester

I could go on for days, but I’ll stop there. The reality is that these mistakes were COSTLY!  

Despite the obstacles, I managed to make it through college and (even graduated a semester early!), only to be thrust into a new and unknown territory… the REAL WORLD! I got a college degree partly because I was told that I need to “go to college to be successful” and so I went. And I graduated and had no clue what to do next. There wasn’t a magic door labeled “Success” that I could open using my college degree as the key. I didn’t have a plan, and I found myself working factory jobs because they made great money and were local; and I was just trying to survive and figure out how to be a real adult. For me, it wasn’t about making great money, I longed for the days of working with students in the TRIO programs as their English tutor and resident advisor; I missed empowering them to reach their goals. I knew that I needed to go back to school to get my masters degree so that I could work with students. I always wanted to be a Director of a pre-collegiate program like TRIO. In fact, when I was 15 years old I had told the TRIO Upward Bound Director at Iowa State University that I would have her job someday; that job required at least a master’s degree so I quit the factory to attend grad school for higher education.

During my time getting my masters, I dedicated my research projects to areas where I wanted to understand students better which included not only getting to college but successful completion of college as well. I also was able to reflect on my experience and understand the reasoning behind the mistakes I made. Simply put, I made the mistakes because I did not have a plan and did not see the bigger picture. I was going through the motions and making uniformed decisions that led me to making choices out of desperation versus preparation. I had no idea what was next for me and what I should be looking for.  Ever since I was a graduate student running residential summer college prep programs, I vowed to provide students with the BIG picture and help them to become well-rounded responsible adults by preparing them for life beyond the classroom. 

The decisions they make as young adults will affect their lifestyle as an adult. I am transparent about my mistakes and help students to avoid them by explaining the consequences. I believe that students need to understand that post-secondary education is as much about finances as it is about passion and purpose. I have found my life’s purpose and I am thankful that my mistakes have allowed me to make a positive impact on thousands of students.