Stephanie Beaver-Guzman

I have been directly impacted by those staff members and counselors of EOP&S who devoted time, effort, energy, going above and beyond to help me.

They were my personal cheerleaders and provided a foundation of belief in me so I could eventually believe in myself.

As a first-generation, former-foster youth, low-income, Native student, I did not have a strong network of people or role models who even knew about how to navigate higher education.

My mom had not graduated high school, nor did most of my community members on the reservation I grew up on.

My EOP&S counselor helped me learn the basics (like time management, study skills, balancing my commitments) to helping me learn a foreign higher ed system and overcome my own doubts and fears, that I did not belong. He and other EOP&S staff became family to me, and inspired me to pursue my own dreams of becoming an EOP&S Counselor.

Now, in my role, as EOP&S and Foster Youth Counselor, I try to pay that same compassion, empathy, and patience, to my students, the same way those were shared with me.

I strove towards my goals and persisted, with their help and examples.