UNION, NJ — Eleven first-generation Kean University students have been selected for fellowships with America Needs You, a national program that helps students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds build career skills for future success.
The students, most in their sophomore year at Kean, are part of a group of 89 students from New Jersey named to the two-year fellowships.
“Kean is dedicated to supporting our first-generation students as they build successful futures,” said Barbara Harmon-Francis, vice president for the Division of Student Success and Retention at Kean. “The America Needs You fellowship gives them invaluable access to mentors and hands-on experiences that will open doors and help them confidently navigate their career journeys. We’re excited to see these students take advantage of this opportunity and eager to see what they’ll accomplish.”
Viviana Zambrano, director of the Office for Student Retention and Educational Innovation at Kean, said she worked with the Office of Student Retention to bring the ANY program to Kean and encourage students to apply. Applications are now open for the 2025 cohort.
“The goal of ANY is to create upward economic mobility for first-generation college students, teaching them tools to navigate the career process,” said Zambrano, herself a first-generation graduate. “We always encourage students to take advantage of Kean’s career services, to have an internship. Taking part in ANY really makes it clear to students – this is how you go about that.”
ANY offers monthly workshops for the student fellows on topics such as resume development, networking, interview skills and “elevator pitches,” as well as mentoring by volunteer professionals from the workforce. Students receive an annual stipend of $1,000, intended to help with the costs of transportation to events, professional clothing and related items.
Zac Cuffe, an ANY mentor and the ANY New Jersey Associate Board recruitment chairperson, said ANY has proven success. According to the group’s 2023 annual report, he said, 96% of fellows graduate from a four-year institution within six years; 87% land career trajectory internships; and 82% of alumni fellows find jobs with an average starting salary of $66,000 or enroll in graduate school within six months of graduation.
“I am a firm believer in the power of association,” Cuffe said. “As part of the ANY Fellows program, students are given a unique opportunity to have critical access to professionals from a multitude of industries, disciplines and companies. The opportunity to establish and develop those relationships opens doors, and provides visibility and exposure where it might not otherwise exist.”
Many of the Kean students accepted to ANY are also graduates of other University programs that support student success, such as the pre-college Upward Bound program and EOF.
Susan Berube, an ANY fellow from Elizabeth, is a Kean sophomore studying English. She graduated from Upward Bound and now serves as a general education mentor to other Kean students.
“I’m incredibly grateful to have been selected as a fellow for ANY’s 2024 cohort,” she said. “It is such a great opportunity, especially for first-generation college students like myself, to network, receive guidance on our careers and internships, attend career-readiness workshops and so much more. To be provided with opportunities like these that my parents never had is such a blessing. It does feel like all my hard work has paid off.”
Photo Courtesy of Kean University