Winona Daily News Campus Connection
September 11, 2022

Papenfuss Scholars Program helps MSC Southeast students and their advisor build key relationships for success

Student Success Advisor Shannon Sullivan knows that college can be a very daunting environment. "Establishing a key person that you can go to for anything helps ease the transition into college."

At Minnesota State College Southeast, the Papenfuss Scholars Program is helping students build just such relationships.

Made possible by a gift from the Jerry & Patricia Papenfuss Family Fund of the Winona Community Foundation, the Papenfuss Scholars Program is meeting the college expenses of nine Winona Area Learning Center (WALC) graduates at MSC Southeast this year. 

The Papenfuss Scholars also have the advantage of working with a dedicated advisor. Shannon Sullivan previously worked at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and was a Retention Advisor, Financial Aid Assistant, and an Admissions Assistant at MSC Southeast for seven years.   

"After the first group of Papenfuss Scholars was selected in 2021, I came back to Southeast," she said. "I started meeting with students on a regular basis in the summer before classes even started. By the time Fall Semester began, we were already well into a comfortable relationship."

Now age 22, Devin Foster is one of five successful Papenfuss Scholars who started college at MSC Southeast last year. Initially he planned to major in Information Technology, but after a successful first semester, he changed to Software Development and Support, a program he considers to be more challenging. 

When he was younger, Devin said he was in and out of high school. He dropped out to work for a while. "I just didn't care about school at the time, but at a certain point I had a wakeup call to change my life around."

During Covid, he enrolled at the Winona Area Learning Center. By then, he was a highly motivated student. "I finished a full year of high school in a semester. And I was doing it all online at that," Devin said. "I liked working online because I could work at my own pace. I could accelerate my pace and graduate sooner." 

As a WALC student, Devin first heard about the Papenfuss Scholars Program in a text message from his high school counselor. 

"My counselor said I would be perfect for it -- I felt confident that I would get the Scholarship. I try hard, they know I'm intelligent, I was on good terms with the counselor and teachers."

But after completing the application process, he didn't hear back for quite a while. In fact, he thought he hadn't been selected until the end of June, when three of his high school teachers and an admissions representative from Minnesota State College Southeast showed up at his doorstep to surprise him with the good news.

Devin knew the Papenfuss Scholarship would meet his college expenses. He also received MSC Southeast Foundation and Workforce Development scholarships and got a work-study position at the college's IT Helpdesk to stretch his dollars further.

What he didn't know was that the scholarship would also come with the opportunity to work with an advisor. That's when Shannon Sullivan came into his life.

Shannon explained that relationship building is key to helping students achieve academic progress - it creates a safe environment where they become comfortable in asking for help.

"Asking for help is something that's really hard to do," she confided. "Sometimes I feel our biggest challenge is letting students know it's OK to ask for help." 

"Shannon and I meet up once a week. She's a happy person to talk to," said Devin. "I have felt overwhelmed at times, but she makes sure I feel positive about school. She'll email my teachers if we have concerns. I like to walk or bike everywhere, but sometimes I need a ride and Shannon will give me Lyft cards." 

Shannon's approach to advising is based on a team approach with college faculty. "I get progress checks from the instructors, which provides another level of feedback and opportunities for learning," said Shannon. 

Knowing he will have the first two years of completed without any student loan debt, Devin said he is planning to continue his college career. "I definitely plan to go on for a bachelor's degree. I would like to go somewhere out of state, live on campus."

"It's been such a joy to see how successful these students are, and their instructors share in that joy!" Shannon said. 

Photo Captions
Above: Advisor Shannon Sullivan and student Devin Foster meet up weekly to stay on track with his progress in college.
Below: As a Software Development and Support student, Devin Foster has found a work-study position at the college's IT Helpdesk.