Student Feature
This issue introduces a new
series that highlights individual
examples of the Siena Heights
brand, “Opportunity U,” and how
the university’s mission is transforming the lives of our students
as well as the world around us.
OPPORTUNITY
Mission Accomplished Series
Belief System
By Doug Goodnough
Investment Pays off for McNair
Program Graduate Nick Frost ’10
E
nough people believed in Nick Frost ’10 to
eventually help him believe in himself.
As a local youth who grew up in the shadow of
Siena Heights University’s campus, Frost was
looking in another direction when he graduated
from Adrian High School in 2005.
“I wanted to play basketball in college, but I applied for a loan and was denied,” Frost said of his
initial hoop dream plan, which didn’t include
Siena Heights.
He and some high school buddies decided instead to attend Jackson Community College—
but not to play basketball. His new game plan
was to complete his classes at JCC and hopefully attend an Ivy League school. Although his
grades were good, Plan B also didn’t work out.
What was working out, however, was his involvement with the local Boys and Girls Club. He first
started attending the club as an eighth-grader,
and became such a fixture that he began working
there at age 16 through a special program.
8
Reflections Summer ’10
When he turned 18, he became the youngest
person ever hired by the club as a full-time staff
member. However, his continued employment
at the club meant he had to look nearby to continue his college education.
Enter Siena Heights. More specifically, SHU
President Sister Peg Albert. Frost was one of the
speakers at a club event Sister Peg attended, and
he left a lasting impression on her.
“She called one of our board members and told
her that she would help me financially in order to
go to a four-year school,” Frost said. “At the time,
what I was doing with the (club) staff members
was to scramble and figure out ways to find funding and grants and loans to go to any four-year
school. She said she would help bear the brunt
somewhat financially if I came to school here.
That was really something that encouraged me
to keep going.”
Frost, a psychology major, got the college opportunity he was looking for, and has made the most
of it. He graduated in May with a 3.3 grade point
average, and was a Dean’s List student his final
three semesters at SHU.
He also participated in the Ronald McNair PostBaccalaureate Achievement Program, a federally
funded program designed to encourage eligible
students from low income and first generation
families to pursue graduate studies leading to the
completion of a doctoral degree. In fact, the McNair program helped him receive a full tuition
and stipend fellowship to attend the University
of Wisconsin-Madison next fall to pursue his
doctorate in one of the top psychology graduate
programs in the country.
“I had heard about the McNair program when
I was at JCC,” Frost said. “It turned out that one
of my mentors when I was at the Boys and Girls
Club was a McNair scholar. He started telling
me about it, and it sounded like a good idea.”
He said McNair Director Dr. Patricia Wallace
provided the necessary encouragement to join—
and complete—the rigorous program.
“She encouraged me and gave me a goal,” Frost
said. “McNair really gave me something to strive
for. I could have floundered around and took
some classes here and there just to get my GPA
up, … but I knew I had to finish.