Education: Loyola Marymount University
Abstract: Stephanie Manalo’s parents were both born in the Philippines. Her father, Augusto Manalo, studied at the University of the Philippines and later started the fishery department there. Her mother, Dolores Manalo attended St. Teresa College but did not graduate. She was the main care-taker of Stephanie’s six siblings.
Stephanie was the only child to be born in America, and the youngest in her family by a number of years. She did not have the hardships that many other first generation students had. Her parents were very supportive and very academically demanding. They made sure that all of the children attended private Catholic schools. The girls attended Immaculate Heart High School, and the boys attended Cathedral and Daniel Murphy High Schools.
Stephanie's father worked for the water pollution control of Los Angeles and her mother, Dolores, worked as a broker. Her parents really encouraged of Stephanie’s advancement in education. The Manalo family was big and it was a tight unit. The strict household made it easier for the family to stay away from the violence in the area of Los Angeles they lived in. The private schools also went a long way in helping the children stay out of trouble. Stephanie received a lot of support from her parents both educationally and financially. Her parents made many sacrifices in sending her to Loyola Marymount University, but they kept Stephanie in the dark about their financial struggle.
Being a first generation college student and growing up where she did, Stephanie understood the idea of sacrifice and giving back. After college she joined the Jesuit Volunteer Core where she lived and worked in an urban area of Minnesota. Now she is giving back by working for Kids Turn where she coordinates discussions and counseling with children whose parents are divorced or separated. She believes that the work she does is in direct correlation with the experience she gained as being a first generation college student.
Keywords: giving back, first generation college, family, Jesuit Volunteer Core
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