KC STEM Alliance | First Kauffman Scholars prepare to graduate

22 May First Kauffman Scholars prepare to graduate

Posted at 14:10h in Uncategorized by admin

May 19

By JOE ROBERTSON

The Kansas City Star

The middle of Cristina Ortiz’s sophomore year, it hit her.

Despair? Or maybe fear? Certainly a crisis of confidence.

I can’t be an engineer.

“I reached a point where I stopped believing in myself,” she said.

Many other students like her in the first class of Kauffman Scholars — students from low-income households, many trying to be the first of their family to get a college degree — scraped against the same crippling reef.

ALLISON LONG | Kansas City Star Cristina Ortiz, a member of the first class of Kauffman Scholars, graduated last week from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with an engineering degree. Although she struggled with self-doubt, Ortiz succeeded when more than half of her fellow Kauffman students had dropped out or are not on pace to graduate within five years. Changes are underway to improve the program’s graduation rates.

Quick Resources

Quick Links

Get Connected

First Kauffman Scholars prepare to graduate

22 May First Kauffman Scholars prepare to graduate

May 19

By JOE ROBERTSON

The Kansas City Star

Contact & Connect

E-newsletter

About