Susana Montes: First-Generation Graduate

By: Honor Tamminga

Photographed by: Yolanda Diaz

The way Susana Montes talks about her sister makes it clear: family is important to her. Montes is graduating this semester, with a degree in social work and a minor in Hispanic cultural studies. She is the first in her family to pursue higher education, and as a first-generation college student at George Fox University (GFU), she has a unique perspective on the college experience.

Montes said that when she started as a student at GFU, she felt like she was behind everyone else. It seemed like things that were totally new to her were common knowledge to everyone else. “It was really humbling for me to own up that I didn’t know the answer to a lot of common things,” Montes said. She didn’t have parents or older siblings to teach her about things like loans and scholarships. Montes had to figure things out for herself. And she says that a lot of the time, she felt like she didn’t fit in with her peers who seemed to know what they were doing.

Susana Montes photographed by Yolanda Diaz.

Now, Montes is happy to be able to help her little sister navigate college. Though her sister is also faced with the challenges of being a first-generation college student, Montes is glad that she will at least have her older sister as a resource. Montes even helped her sister secure a full-ride scholarship.

Though Montes had to learn about college for herself, GFU did provide helpful resources and, most importantly, people who invested in her life. One of Montes’s favorite things about GFU professors and faculty who really care about students on a personal level. 

One example of this for Montes is Jesse Cetz, the First Generation Student Success Coordinator and Liberation Scholars Project Manager at GFU. During her time at GFU, Cetz became a great mentor and role model for Montes. “I really aspire to be another figure or mentor in someone else’s life,” Montes said.

Cetz has been intentional about developing relationships with first-generation college students like Montes and sharing their challenges and joys with them. As a social work major, Montes wants to be able to spend her career building relationships and helping others as Cetz helped her. 

I n addition to the mentorship Cetz has provided, Montes says the community of first-generation college students at GFU has been a profoundly positive experience. “It’s been so cool to have a space to share a meal, and play games, and just get to know other people that are coming from different walks of life, but are also walking the same experience that I am,” Montes said.

She hopes to continue her education and pursue a master’s degree and eventually work as a school district social worker. For now, though, Montes has a position lined up back home in Albany. She will be working with runaway youth at Jackson Street Youth Services.

One of the most important things to Montes is family. Montes talks about how she and her sister are able to provide examples for one another. “I definitely wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my little sister,” Montes said. Now, as she heads home after her graduation, Montes is looking forward to spending time with her family, church, and childhood friends. 

Even while at GFU, she sought out a family in the community, both with faculty and with students. “It’s definitely been the people that have made my experience at Fox such a positive one,” Montes said. Wherever she goes as she pursues her further education, Montes will be sure to find and share her experiences with meaningful communities.