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Being a McAuley Scholar allowed Lauren Imhoff ’22 to attend the school of her dreams—皇冠体育. During her time on campus, she created Gen 1—a club to support first-generation college students.

当劳伦第一次踏入校园时，感觉就像回到了家。 Once she toured Mount Mercy, she knew she didn’t need to see another school—she had made her decision.

“I just got so excited—I didn’t really think about the financial aspect of things,” said Lauren.

劳伦是第一代学生，她自己支付大学学费。 Being awarded the 凯瑟琳·麦考利奖学金 allowed her to be more involved on campus and focus on her studies.

“We wanted Gen 1 to be a home away from home for individuals on campus who felt like they needed their questions answered.”
– 劳伦·伊姆霍夫，22岁

劳伦有机会加入麦考利学者的支持网络，她利用她在校园的时间，通过寻找方法来支持处于类似情况的学生。 She was a Mustang Mentor, a student leader for AmeriCorps, a 项目连接 Mentor, and—with inspiration and help from 项目连接 Director Jennifer McNabb—started a new club to uplift fellow first-generation students: Gen 1.

“We wanted Gen 1 to be a home away from home for individuals on campus who felt like they needed their questions answered,” said Lauren. “It’s led by a group of students who knew exactly what they were going through and could help them with any aspect of their life.”

At the end of Gen 1’s first official year as a club, it was granted the Student Organization of the Year Award at the Mustang Leadership Awards. 对劳伦来说，这一刻是她在芒特仁慈学院的一个亮点。

“It showed that what we were doing had an impact,” said Lauren.

劳伦对项目连接的领导能力给予了很高的评价，因为她在创建Gen 1时运用了这种领导能力。 作为项目连接导师，她能够建立领导和沟通技巧和网络。

“The person I am now and the person I was as a freshman are two completely different people, and I give 100% of the credit to 项目连接,” said Lauren.

加入项目连接和麦考利学者允许劳伦建立有意义的联系，并在她的Mount Mercy职业生涯开始时加入一个支持性社区。

“I know some of my best friends today from the McAuley Scholarship,” shared Lauren.

Her connections don’t stop with fellow students. 詹妮弗·麦克纳布在国会期间一直激励着劳伦。 詹妮弗为第一代学生提供了最初的灵感，并继续与劳伦合作，实现他们为第一代学生创造一个支持性空间的目标。

“She saw potential in me that I didn’t necessarily see in myself,” Lauren shared. “That’s given me the confidence to do a lot of things that I’ve been able to do here.”

Director of Career Services Kalindi Garvin also had a meaningful impact on Lauren’s time at Mount Mercy.

劳伦知道她想从事助人的职业，但在第一年，她发现护士并不适合她。 Kalindi helped Lauren discover that 医疗保健管理 and 公共卫生 were areas that fit her skills and goals better.

在她的课堂上，劳伦学会了在现实生活中应用的技能。 她在美慈医疗中心实习时，这些都派上了用场。

“A lot of things I was learning, specifically health literacy, really helped me in my internship.”

“The McAuley Scholarship meant I was able to come to my dream school.”
– 劳伦·伊姆霍夫，22岁

All of the experiences that shaped Lauren’s time on the Hill helped her to gain meaningful skills and connections. 在麦考利奖学金的帮助下，这些时刻成为可能。

“The McAuley Scholarship meant I was able to come to my dream school,” said Lauren.

劳伦很高兴能把她在Mount Mercy中学到的东西应用到她12月毕业后的职业生涯中。

“Mount Mercy is my favorite place in the world, and I’m so happy that I chose to come here,” said Lauren. “I think that the opportunities I’ve gotten here are really unique, and I don’t know if I would have gotten it at a bigger university.”