05/16/19
Melanie Arellano-Luna and four other graduating seniors were asked to speak to the same set of questions about their college careers. The transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for form and concision.

Melanie Arellano-Luna, Kansas City, a 2014 graduate of Bishop Ward High School, is graduating with a Bachelor of Social Work with a minor in Spanish and a certificate in leadership.

Melanie Arellano-Luna can you describe you were when you first came to Fort Hays State? 

When she first started here, she was terrified. Terrified. But she was excited too, it was obviously a new experience being four hours away from home, completely new place, new school, new people and new school era, in a way, going into higher education. So I was absolutely terrified. But I was really excited. And I had no expectations. I didn’t know what to expect.

And initially, I was very focused on just getting school done and over with. It was just getting your classes out of the way, get your credits out of the way, get that academic portion out of the way. So I feel like I had a very like one track mind, just that one focus that one goal at the end.

Who is Melanie now? What changed?

I feel like I have tracks going everywhere now. As I started to get more involved, a lot of my involvement on campus just came from the great staff and faculty. They really pushed me and gave me that confidence to not be so shy, to take more risks and to get out there. So it became more than just getting classes done. It became about volunteering and getting involved.

It wasn't just class. It was expanding that network and meeting other people and getting to do things that ultimately led to being able to strengthen my passion for social work.

Who and what helped you become the person you now?

So when I came in as a freshman, and I was in that learning community, I was in the leadership one, Live. Learn. Lead., with Jill – Dr. Arensdorf. I initially didn't want to get involved on campus. I had a lot of great advisors that really took that initiative to say, “Hey, you would be great at this,” or ‘Try this out,” or “Go to a meeting.” And definitely, obviously, it was that family support back home. I'm going to be a first-generation college graduate, so it was a lot of encouragement, a lot of that push from them. And then from friends on campus, we did everything together. And we definitely pushed each other to get involved.

But I think the biggest part of my growth and my development on campus probably just came from advisors and teachers that saw something in me and were able to kind of force me, to drag that out and to push through and just get involved. I mean, they really pushed me. Every opportunity that they saw, they were throwing Melanie in there, and at first, I will admit, I did not like it.

But looking back at it now, I’m really thankful that they did do that, that they didn’t go easy on me, because had they not I probably would have backed out. They were very persistent and very supportive. And I think in one way they knew I needed that shove. It wasn’t a push, it was a full shove to getting into campus.

Is there anything else you would like to say?

I think something that makes Fort Hays really special is that we're not just students here. A lot of the staff and faculty are able to see us as people and as young adults. And they kind of move with us, recognizing that we have a lot of other things going on outside of class – regular life type of stuff, and difficulties and family things and a lot of other things. My freshman and sophomore year I actually really struggled a lot with a lot of things, and I never felt like I wouldn’t be able to keep going because I wasn't just a student.

I feel like we say a lot through a lot of our advertising materials, we always repeat, you know, that Fort Hays is a family. The campus is a family, and sometimes I do feel like it gets repetitive, but I also feel like it doesn’t get emphasized enough.