Contact: Sasha Steinberg
Photo by: Beth Wynn
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- She logged roughly 4,000 miles on a five-week cross country excursion while riding in--and occasionally driving--a bright green RV named Carl. She met and interviewed prominent, successful individuals from all walks of life. An even greater achievement, as a participant in Roadtrip Nation, was gaining the self-confidence to pursue her academic and career goals.
Mississippi State University sophomore Jennifer L. "Jenny" Rogers was one of four college students experiencing a first-generation-themed road trip this past summer, and their journey will be featured during a one-hour "First-Gen" Roadtrip documentary on PBS next spring. A 60-second trailer is available for viewing now at vimeo.com/106841191.
The experience helped Rogers gain perspective and make some important decisions. She recently switched her major to art in hopes of pursuing a career that would allow her to pursue her interest in typography.
"The reason I wasn't in an art major to begin with is because everyone was telling me that I wasn't going to be making much money. I was listening to the noise that people were putting in my life.
"After going on Roadtrip, I realized I'm going to make my living no matter what; I need to do what's going to make me happy," she said.
The Vancleave native said she first learned about Roadtrip Nation this past spring while enrolled in a career planning class taught by Angela Knight.
"I had never considered myself first-generation. I never really thought about it in depth. It was coming time for Roadtrip to plan a new trip, and when the first-generation trip came up, Ms. Knight encouraged me to apply for it."
For this first-generation road trip, Costa Mesa, California-based career exploration organization Roadtrip Nation teamed up with not-for-profit College Board to give Rogers and three other first-generation college students the opportunity to travel on a bright green RV to California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, Alabama, Washington, D.C. and New York.
In addition to sight-seeing and participating in confidence-building recreational activities such as bungee jumping and white water rafting, the roadtrippers visited with some very special individuals.
"We spoke with renowned musicians, CEOs, poets, artists, small business owners--many of whom were first-generation college students--to find out how they overcame obstacles to get to where they are now," Rogers said.
They included musicians John Legend and Louie Pérez, CEOs Randall Stephenson of AT & T, Inc., Howard Schultz of Starbucks, Anna Maria Chávez of the Girl Scouts of the USA, and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Rogers cited Nikki Cooley, co-executive director of Fifth World Discoveries in Flagstaff, Arizona, as her overall favorite interviewee.
"She was the first Native American woman to get her commercial river guide license for the Colorado River. She grew up on a reservation, and she speaks Navajo," she explained. "She was the first interview where it hit me, 'OK, she's really being emotionally open with us.' She had to stop for a minute to collect herself and wipe away her tears."
"The willingness of these people to be open with four strangers was definitely something that caught me off guard," said Rogers of the experience. Prior to each interview, she and her three fellow first-generation roadtrippers also took turns sharing their backstories.
"Ever since I was little, I remember my mom always wanted to check my homework, read together and help me practice for spelling tests," Rogers recalled. "I was reading a little bit before I even got into kindergarten, and I always remember being really, really good in school. When she passed away in 2005, I kept that with me."
"After my mom passed away, my dad's alcoholism came back full swing," she continued. "He tried, but for the most part, he wasn't really involved in my schooling. Even though my brother was older than me, I was the one who was making sure we got up, got ready for school and got on the bus. Dad wasn't really involved all that much or asking about my grades, but I was still taking the AP classes that I wanted to take. It was never a question of if I was going to college; it was always when."
When reflecting on her Roadtrip Nation experience, Rogers said, "Going on Roadtrip produced these role models that I think me and a lot of other students need. Meeting and interviewing these powerful people and learning of the struggles they went through and realizing what they have overcome was really inspiring."
"I would definitely do Roadtrip all over again," she added.
Rogers said she thinks it's important for MSU to reach out to first-generation college students, and hopes to start speaking to classes about Roadtrip Nation and her experiences as a first-generation college student in general.
"Being a first-generation student is really tough and overwhelming because nobody in your family has ever had that experience and you may not know what opportunities are out there like scholarships or grants," said Rogers, who is continuing to put herself through school. "I can't wait for the final Roadtrip piece to come out in the spring because I want other students who may be doubting themselves to look at it and say, 'These people were the first people in their families to go to college. Why not me? Why can't that be me?'"
"To know that I'm changing generations and generations of my familyâ¦that I'm paving the wayâ¦is a really incredible feeling," she emphasized. "Instead of having that person to look up to, I'm going to be that person in my family that future generations will look up to."
Learn more about Roadtrip Nation at www.roadtripnation.com.
Mississippi's flagship research university is online at www.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.