Suffolk students and alumni came together to listen to the McNair Scholars panel Nov. 5 that focused on something many students find hard to face: rejection.
The event was co-hosted by Suffolk’s Center for First-Generation and Educational Equity and the McNair Scholars program as part of First-Gen Week.
It featured first-generation student alumni who opened up about what it’s like to persist through setbacks on their way to graduate school. The panelists included Tatiana Vasquez, Olivia Lapolla, Danilo Martinez, Arly Macario and Samantha Garcia.
“You have this plan and you have these expectations of what you think you need to do… but you really end up where you need to be,” said Macario, a 2018 Suffolk graduate who later earned a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
She talked about accepting a doctoral program offer and then withdrawing from it. This decision, at first, made her feel like a failure. She emphasized that being vulnerable and going to her community for support is what got her through grad school.
“You think you can do it alone, but you can’t. You need people behind you,” said Macario.
For Garcia, a 2022 Suffolk graduate, rejection turned out to be one of the best things that happened to her. Now in her first year of law school at New England Law, she said not getting accepted into graduate school forced her to slow down and rest.
“I needed to get rejected… I really needed that ‘no’ in order for me to take rest and to prioritize rest,” said Garcia.
Later in the discussion, she added, “Tell me no a million times because I’m so persistent that I’ll find a way to make you say yes.”
Martinez, a 2020 Suffolk graduate, highlighted how he took risks and thought strategically to get to where he was. Through perseverance, he was able to get a full ride for his master’s program in emerging media studies at Boston University.
Martinez encouraged students to advocate for themselves and listen to their inner voice.
Lapolla, who now teaches at a high school while working on her master’s, said her rejections from Ph.D. programs taught her that it’s never too late to change your mind and that goals can evolve.
She explained that she received her bachelor’s degree in law, then got her first master’s degree in history of art, and is now working towards getting her master’s in education at Boston College. She emphasized that a “no” does not mark the end of her journey.
Vasquez, who graduated in 2022 and is now pursuing her master’s in neuropsychology at Columbia University, said that resting and finding her voice after rejection was one of the most meaningful parts of her journey. When many students in her McNair cohort didn’t get into graduate school that year, they turned to each other for support. The community helped rebuild her confidence and trust her own path.
“You need to take your time and just rest and reflect and figure out what you actually want to do and not have anyone else’s voice be part of that,” said Vasquez.
The McNair Scholars program’s graduate and research advisor, Natasha Berger, said these are the type of people first-gen students need to see. They are examples of who the students will be in the future.
“When you see some examples, like these successful stories of persistence, perseverance, you see that it’s possible for you and if you get a rejection, it’s not the end of the world for you either,” said Berger.
Students who attended the panel said it helped them reflect on their own journeys. New McNair scholar Valentina Tolentino said she came hoping for guidance as she figures out her next steps. She left feeling less pressure and reminded herself to take things one step at a time.
Victor Cruz-Castro, a second-year McNair scholar, said the discussion helped him tell the difference between what he truly wants and what he’s dreaming about. He added that it motivated him to start building a stronger network to lean on during the grad school process and beyond.
For Jade Buchanan, who’s currently applying to graduate programs, the panel was reassuring and comforting.
“It made me feel like I wasn’t alone,” said Buchanan.
Director of the McNair Scholars program Bryan Landgren said the goal of events like this is to make sure students feel represented and supported as they navigate their academic journeys.
“Our hope and our goal in having programs like this is to actually inform the community of the work that’s being done… to ensure that all of our students have a seat at the table, they have representation and that once again, they can fall seven times, but we will be that eighth thing that brings them up,” said Landgren.
