Congratulations are in order for Lander University rising sophomore Lucia Solano, who has been awarded a 2024 Jordan Smith Undergraduate Fellowship.
Co-sponsored by DIA Higher Education Collaborators and the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, the national award recognizes recipients for their commitment to excellence and support of first-year student experiences and academic success.
Solano is one of only five recipients of the prestigious honor in 2024, and the only recipient from a South Carolina college or university. The awards were presented at the 43rd Annual Conference on The First Year Experience (pictured), held recently in Seattle, Wash.
An international studies major and Presidential Ambassador, Solano currently provides mentoring as a student coordinator for the peer leader team in Lander’s First-Year Experience program. As a first-generation Costa Rican American college student, she is passionate about helping students navigate their transition to college through social modeling for underrepresented student populations.
Solano recently participated as a student representative during the Higher Education Day initiative organized by the State of South Carolina, and the Student Speakership for the Lander Launch event, which welcomes new students to campus.
About the Fellowship:
Each year, the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, housed at the University of South Carolina, honors undergraduate students for their work on behalf of first-year students and the impact their efforts make on the students and cultures of their institutions.
The purpose of the Fellowship program, according to the Center’s website, is to advance the leadership skills and knowledge base of undergraduate students so that they may in turn use what they learn at the Annual Conference to enhance and encourage first-year student development on their respective campuses.