Calvin News

When Emma Fankhauser finished up her high school classes, she had her eye on the military. The main reason? She thought it was her only option of getting from where she was to where she wanted to go.

“I had the desire to go to college, but I didn’t know if I could afford it or could get the scholarship money to make it happen,” said Fankhauser. “So, there were benefits of going into the military and after I got out, I could have payment for college.”

Fankhauser, who would become the first in her family to attend a four-year university, seemed to be looking for the path of least resistance. But, by graduating high school at 17 years old, that path was temporarily shut down as she needed to be 18 to enroll in the military.

Pivoting to Another Path

So, she took a gap year and decided to work full-time while seeing if she could take classes at a local community college. That path proved challenging, and she ended up dropping all of her classes. She would re-enroll, but with a different mindset.

“I took it slow. I didn’t know how to do it, and I didn’t think I could,” said Fankhauser.

Fankhauser would soon look to transfer into a four-year college and the one she selected was the only one she applied to: Calvin University.

“I heard of Calvin through my brother-in-law. He’s one of the few people close to me who went to a four-year university,” said Fankhauser.

Going it Alone

So, she started at Calvin. And as a first-generation college student, navigating that transition was challenging and she was trying to figure things out on her own.

“At first, I didn’t take advantage of any academic counseling because I felt like I needed to hide that I didn’t know anything about what I was doing,” said Fankhauser.

This led to her making some guesses.

“I showed up the first week of class wearing a business coat because I didn’t know what to expect or the vibe of what I should wear,” said Fankhauser. “That first year I had a lot of challenges.”

But then, Fankhauser tried a different approach.

Opening Up Leads to Open Doors

“I was in an academic transitions class with Kyle Heys (the director of student success), and I wrote an essay for him. I was nervous to submit it, because my story is what the essay was about, my academic journey,” said Fankhauser. 

It was the first time she had told anyone at Calvin what her life and experience was like. “He [Kyle] was very impressed by it and talked with me about it,” said Fankhauser. “He said, let’s get you setup with TRIO [a federally funded support for first-generation students, students from low-income families, and students with disabilities], let’s get you connected in certain ways.

It just took feeling that first person believe in me,” said Fankhauser. “There are several people, great people at Calvin who believe in you, it’s just a matter of being known and letting them in. Once I let that first person in, it was kind of this tunnel effect.

Through TRIO, Fankhauser got access to specialized resources and services that would help her thrive in college.

“It was so helpful having TRIO advisors who are tailored to meet the needs of first-gen students with no experience of college,” said Fankhauser. “When I told people I didn’t know something, they would start from the beginning, from the ground up. The counseling was extremely helpful.”

Discovering Community

So too was the community of people Fankhauser discovered … people who cared deeply about her and her success and could relate to her journey.

“When I joined TRIO my second year, that’s when things took a full flip at Calvin, it was a completely different experience,” said Fankhauser. “I spent my first year feeling I needed to hide as I didn’t know so many things, so I pretended I knew what I was doing, but when I joined TRIO I found a lot of support and a lot of friends that were going through similar experiences in college that I was.”

Paying it Forward

Now, in her senior year, Fankhauser is the office coordinator for Student Success, the office where TRIO resides. She’s now helping others find their place, while they navigate an unfamiliar space.

“I love making a space where students can come in and be known and ask for whatever they are looking for, where nothing is considered too small. This is a place where you very much are accepted for who you are and there is help for you right where you are at,” said Fankhauser.

Fankhauser is hoping to continue this work after college. She’s looking to go into a job in human resources. 

“I am passionate about pursuing a career in human resources because I understand firsthand the importance of support, empathy, and creating an environment where individuals can thrive. I want to help others navigate their own challenges in the workplace, offering the same encouragement and understanding that made a difference in my own life.”

She is grateful she wasn’t held back by her limiting beliefs about her future. And she encourages first-gen students, like herself, to dream bigger too.

“Something I remember a lot of times when I wonder ‘is something possible for me?’ is that God gives you the desires of your heart and He also makes a way for those desires to be fulfilled. So, if I really want to go to college, but don’t think there’s a way to do it, as a Christian I know that God makes a way, and anything is possible through Christ.”