Recognition for hard work

When the University of Idaho administrators originally chose to cancel the Spring 2020 Commencement ceremony, the opportunity for first-generation college student Alina Tovar to be recognized for her hard work was taken away. She was excited to show her family the university she’d worked so hard at for the past four years.

“None of my family have ever been to a college ceremony,” Tovar said. “I had a couple of cousins who went to college too, but all of them dropped out. So, I’m actually the first one in my whole family to be done. My grandparents were going to come (and) my uncles like my aunts (too). It was kind of like a bigger thing, and so the fact that it got canceled that was a bummer,” Tovar said.

Tovar said she always knew she wanted to go to college. She had high aspirations to work in a service profession of some kind, and she knew she would need to put in the time and work to make it happen.

“I knew that I was going to have to keep going with education if I wanted to get the job that I wanted,” Tovar said.

Though Tovar’s parents were very supportive of her goals to attend college, high school teachers and advisors gave her the tools to attend higher education. Tovar joined TRIO Upward Bound, a program that aids potential first-generation college students, her freshman year of high school. TRIO brought Tovar UI for Vandal Friday.

Tovar was curious about living in Northern Idaho, and UI provided her with more scholarship opportunities than the other schools she considered. She decided to commit herself to the school.

After her first few weeks of college, Tovar said she began to notice the differences between her and other students.

“I felt like I was always having to do a lot more, just being a first-gen and then also with work study and having to work to get myself through college. That was some things that I saw were different in their students,” Tovar said.

Tovar became involved with the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), which helped her stay motivated, as well as helped her find resources on campus. They provided her with extra support in everything from access, therapy and tutoring.

“Honestly I don’t even think I would have been able to graduate without (OMA). There are so many times where I felt like I wasn’t financially there or emotionally there, and they would just be like, ‘we got you,’” Tovar said.

By the end of her college career, Tovar made the Dean’s List five times. She started and later became president of Idaho’s chapter of TRIO Student Support Services, and she was a panelist for the First-Generation College Student Day Celebration.

“(Tovar) is fun, positive and outgoing,” Jessica Samuels, Tovar’s academic success advisor, said. “She cares a lot about the people around her. I think that’s what motivated her to start the TRIO club.”

Tovar is graduating with two majors: one in psychology and the other in philosophy. Tovar started her own research assignment during her time at UI, where she analyzed first-generation college student’s well-being and academic success when attending college. She also became a research assistant for Dr. Clarissa Richardson Research Lab, where she compiled data from participants during a lab study on stress and cortisol levels and analyzed mental health in rural communities.

Tovar said her love for what she learned in school pushed her to keep going.

“Knowing I’m going to be able to be a professor, psychologist or a mental health counselor pushes me,” Tovar said. “Knowing that’s what I’m going to end up doing in the end, and if that’s what I’m going to be happy doing, I’ll do anything to get there.”

She also said her family is a huge motivation for her to keep going. She said she wants to show her younger siblings that anything is possible if you truly want it.

Tovar said her spirits were lifted when she received notice that the commencement will no longer be canceled.

“I was so happy when they announced that they will be moving the ceremony to August,” Tovar said. “I automatically FaceTimed my family, and they were happy to hear (it). They started spreading the word to other family members and making plans to come up in August.”

Prior to this announcement, Tovar’s family planned a mock-graduation ceremony at her home in Caldwell, Idaho.

“My parents are going to rent a little place close to our home. They’re just going to have a little dinner and barbecue, and I think they’re going to do a fake setup, so I can walk across a stage with my diploma,” Tovar said.

Now, along with the mock ceremony, Tovar will get to walk across the official stage to receive her diploma. Her friends and family will get to experience all the excitement that comes with the ceremony.

Tovar will receive a proper closing of this chapter of her life before she begins the next. She starts her master’s program in clinical trials counseling at Central Washington University this fall.

“I am feeling very grateful that I am going to be able to share this special moment and memory with my family and others who supported me along the way,” Tovar said.

Savanna Estey can be reached at [email protected].