Undergraduate
Paying for College: One Student's Story
Manuel Flores '13
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
"I dare to dream - I want to change the world. I want to take the pitch life threw at me and hit it out of the park"
An inspirational high school mentor pointed Manuel Flores toward Saint Michael's, but it took helpful step-by-step guidance from the college's financial aid and admissions staff to assemble resources that landed him nearly a continent away from his Arizona home for college.
“He's a raw gem," says Ognijen Smiljanic, a teacher at Manuel's award-winning magnet high school in Tucson. Manuel worked 40-hour weeks at a fast-food job, helped a sister care for her young children, rode a bus more than an hour each way to and from school, and still managed to keep a "B" average. "Mr. Oggie" had Vermont connections and got Manuel in touch with the college's multicultural recruiter, Victoria Orner, who took a personal interest in his case.
Victoria made sure he and his mother could visit campus, and after that, both knew it was a good fit. Financial aid and admissions staff helped the family assemble a $36,000 annual aid package covering all but $7,200 of the annual cost for Manuel, and student loans take care of the rest.
"To others whose life situations may be similar to what mine was like with a lot of demands beyond just studying, I would say, just apply!" Manuel says. "If you can graduate high school, you can be successful here with the support that's available."
