You can support students like Theo at the College of Business by making a contribution to the Business Start Something Fund. A gift to this fund provides much-needed general support to the college and allows the college to meet priority needs as they arise.
As a young boy in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Nikolas Mainieri Mancio dreamed of studying in the U.S.
“I dreamed about studying in the United States because I wanted to pursue a better education than I could find in my home country. When I came to Nebraska, I had a cousin who was studying mechanical engineering, and it was important for me to have family around to make the transition easier,” he said. “As an international student, I did not have the opportunity to visit campus, so he showed me around through videos. I fell in love with the College of Business and its programs.”
"I fell in love with the College of business and its programs."
Earning a scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the senior decided to move and make his time at the College of Business matter — leading to a few distinct honors last spring. He was selected to attend the U.S. Naval Academy Leadership Conference and accepted into the Innocents Society. He also became a member of the university’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, an honors organization for financial information students and professionals.
In February, he was named College of Business Student of the Month. Which he soon found out would come with an added perk.
But first, it’s worth mentioning that his journey hasn’t all been smooth sailing. His transition from Brazil to college life in Nebraska included many barriers, such as homesickness and cultural differences. The Brazilian Student Association provided a remedy to that problem. After joining, it gave Mancio a sense of belonging and a supportive network of individuals who shared similar experiences. Later, serving as the association’s vice president, he helped create a welcoming environment for other students from Brazil as they navigated the academic and social aspects of the university.
“I challenged myself academically by actively participating in class discussions, proactively seeking assistance when needed and forming study groups. This improved my English proficiency and fostered academic success and integration into the academic community. Regular communication with family and friends back in Brazil and establishing a routine, but also embracing the American culture as part of my own, helped me fit in and understand how to thrive in such a different environment. In retrospect, the challenges became a transformative experience. They made me step out of my comfort zone, develop resilience and embrace diversity,” he said.
"They made me step out of my comfort zone, develop resilience and embrace diversity."
While looking for opportunities to give back to the community, Mancio found the university’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The program allowed him to use his accounting skills while assisting low-income individuals with their tax returns.
“The VITA program allowed me to apply my academic knowledge in a practical setting while making a meaningful impact on the lives of others. This experience not only deepened my understanding of taxation, but also heightened my sense of social responsibility. It was rewarding to witness the relief on people’s faces when they realized they could navigate the complexities of tax filing with free assistance,” Mancio said.
His involvement in these programs and experiences is part of what led to him being selected as the College of Business Student of the Month.
The additional perk of being selected is that, at the end of the year, one Student of the Month is named Student of the Year. Later in the spring, Mancio was selected to receive that honor. The award came with more than just recognition. As Student of the Year, Mancio was also awarded a scholarship from the N Fund – Business Start Something.
The N Fund – Business Start Something is a fund used for different priorities in the college each year at the dean’s discretion. The fund allows the College of Business to support students like Mancio in a multitude of ways.
Mancio is a senior this year and there is no doubt that he will go on to do great things in the world, but he won’t be the last. To help our university raise up the next Nikolas Mainieri Mancio, consider making a gift today.
Support the Strive to Thrive program, its students and Lincoln nonprofits who benefit from the project by making a contribution to the Strive to Thrive Lincoln Excellence Fund.
Naree Philavanh knows firsthand the life-changing impact philanthropy can have on a person’s life.
Philavanh, a Lincoln native, grew up with dreams of attending college in her hometown. Her parents, both immigrants from Laos, had already established roots of their own within the city. They owned a business in Lincoln — a local store named Jung’s Oriental Food that catered toward immigrants in the city for the last two decades.
“I knew I always wanted to come here because it was the Huskers,” she said. “My dad loved the university, and it was just the perfect match for me.”
Growing up, the expectation was for Philavanh to pursue higher education, and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln was always at the front of her mind. However, those plans derailed during her freshman year of high school.
That year, Philavanh’s mother was seriously injured in a four-car accident. The accident left lifelong injuries and prevented her mother from continuing to work at the family business. Between the sudden transition to a single-income household, along with medical and legal expenses, Philavanh’s family was forced to sell their business and file for bankruptcy.
Philavanh’s dreams of attending UNL suddenly seemed out of reach as she entered her final two years of high school.
“That’s when college, which seemed within reach growing up, didn’t seem possible because of my circumstances,” she said.
Thanks to her hard work as a student at Lincoln East High School, Philavanh was awarded the Susan T. Buffett scholarship as well as a scholarship through the Inclusive Business Leaders program through UNL’s College of Business.
Thanks to these scholarships, Philavanh was able to make her dream of attending UNL a reality. Now, she is a junior business marketing and management double major who is already making a positive impact in the Lincoln community.
This spring, Philavanh participated in the Strive to Thrive Lincoln project offered through the College of Business’ Philanthropy and Leadership course. Strive to Thrive Lincoln provides students with a firsthand look into the nonprofit world and grant-awarding process.
Philavanh, who currently serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit organization Leadership Lincoln, said she was able to take the information from the course and project and directly apply it to her work.
“It wasn’t until Strive to Thrive that I actually learned how a 501(c)(3) is formed. There’s just so many things that Strive to Thrive teaches you.”
“It wasn’t until Strive to Thrive that I actually learned how a 501(c)(3) is formed,” she said. “There’s just so many things that Strive to Thrive teaches you.”
The project culminated in an award ceremony in May where two nonprofits — Camp Kesem at the University of Nebraska and Mourning Hope Grief Center — each received a $5,000 grant.
“I saw how passionate everybody was for all of these organizations, especially Camp Kesem and Mourning Hope,” Philavanh said. “It was kind of like a full circle moment for me.”
Camp Kesem’s UNL chapter provides free summer camps and resources for youth and adolescents with parents battling cancer. Mourning Hope of Lincoln provides children, adults and families who have experienced death or serious illness with grief support.
“To be able to propel these programs forward and help give back to them was really meaningful to me,” Philavanh said.
“It all hit things within my heart.”
Gifts made to the Strive to Thrive Lincoln Excellence Fund directly fund each semester’s grant award. Additionally, these gifts serve as a hands-on teaching tool that provides valuable service and leadership experience for students.
“Every donation to Strive to Thrive Lincoln is a gift to students like me,” Philavanh said. “When you make a gift, it supports nonprofit organizations, the people they serve and the students who participate in the class. It’s an investment in the future.”
Support the next generation of student journalists at the Daily Nebraskan by making a contribution to the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Support Fund. This fund supports the salaries of students who work at the Daily Nebraskan. It serves as the primary endowment fund for the Daily Nebraskan student newspaper and ensures student salaries will be paid forever.
Larry Sparks’s Saturday mornings in the fall at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln were spent tucked away in the Daily Nebraskan’s office in the basement of the Nebraska Union.
It was quieter compared to the frenzied atmosphere that took over the city’s campus during Husker game days. He spent those mornings watching student reporters trickle in and out of the office, occasionally interrupted by wandering alumni from the DN’s past.
“Inevitably, there would be some guy who came in while I was trying to work who appeared to be 150, which is probably how old I am now, and would tell me about how he worked at the DN back in 1902,” Sparks said, laughing.
Fast forward 40 years and the DN’s office carries the same frenetic energy that has been a mainstay for the independently run student publication for the last 123 years.
Some things have changed since Sparks’ time as a student. The DN’s home moved across the hall to occupy a larger section of the union’s basement and Sparks isn’t quite 150 years old, yet.
However, he does carry decades worth of success in the field of journalism and communications that are only possible thanks to the opportunities he received at the DN.
“I’ve always told people that the College of Journalism taught me the commas and everything that goes with actually writing and editing, but the DN taught me to be a journalist,” he said. “It really taught me how to deal with people and the public. I learned so much from that.”
Sparks began working as a sports reporter for the DN as a freshman in 1980. Just a semester later, he became sports editor, holding that position through his sophomore year before being named editor-in-chief as a junior in 1983.
Growing up in the village of Nehawka in eastern Nebraska and attending Conestoga High School, Sparks had limited access to classes that fostered his interest in journalism. As a freshman in college, Sparks said the support he received from upperclassmen at the DN helped him find a second home at the student newspaper.
“I was a 19-year-old kid from a farm in Cass County, and all of a sudden I was here with over 20,000 students. It helped me grow up a lot. I was a little bit of an introvert coming into college, but the DN helped me make a lot of friendships.”
“I was a 19-year-old kid from a farm in Cass County, and all of a sudden I was here with over 20,000 students,” he said. “It helped me grow up a lot. I was a little bit of an introvert coming into college, but the DN helped me make a lot of friendships.”
Sparks graduated from UNL in 1984. From there, he began a 30-year editorial career at the Omaha World-Herald before transitioning into the technical writing and communications field in 2017.
Beyond learning the basics around writing and editing, Sparks said the DN taught him the intangible skills that are necessary for success for anybody with a desire to pursue a career in journalism.
“In all of these positions, there are skills like time management, being able to deal with crises or being able to adjust to changes on the fly that are so valuable,” he said.
As the DN approaches its 123rd birthday celebration June 13, Sparks hopes to ensure that future generations of student reporters will have the opportunity to call the student publication their home.
Sparks will leave an estate gift to support the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Support Fund. It will represent the single largest donation on record to support the long-running student publication.
“I know the experience is vastly different than what I’ve had because journalism has changed so much, but I want the students of today and tomorrow to have the same great memories I had,” he said.
“I just want the DN and journalism in general to live on.”
Throughout his time at UNL, the DN was a full-time job, classroom and second home for Sparks. His experience is representative of countless students who have worked at the publication since its first issue was published June 13, 1901.
“This is your chance to give back to a place that meant a lot to you,” he said. “It was the core of your friendships. It taught you journalism. It taught you life.”
You can support students like Theo at the College of Business by making a contribution to the Business Start Something Fund. A gift to this fund provides much-needed general support to the college and allows the college to meet priority needs as they arise.
Most four-year-olds dread the thought of the dentist’s chair.
For Theo Krieger, it was his favorite day of the year.
Krieger, an Arlington, Texas native and current senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said those trips to the dentist as a child sparked his interest in pursuing a career in dentistry. He said the care and attention his dentist showed toward him and his family made each visit special.
“He would always let me be my mom’s dental assistant,” Krieger said. “It wasn’t a crazy impact that I was having, but I felt like I was doing something productive.”
As he grew, Krieger saw firsthand how impactful a smile can be. Kreiger’s grandmother began experiencing tooth decay because of medication. After receiving dentures, her smile returned for the first time in years.
“Now, she smiles all the time.”
“Now, she smiles all the time,” Krieger said. “The impact of a smile is almost immeasurable because there are so many mental aspects that go along with it. It is so impactful.”
Krieger, a pre-dentistry student, will receive a bachelor’s degree in management this May. He hopes to combine his degree with his passion for dentistry to open his own practice. There, he hopes to fight the mental stigma associated with visiting the dentist.
“If kids have a negative first-time experience that sort of formats how they view the dentist for the rest of their life,” Krieger said. “A dentist is a vital doctor you still need to go to and visit each year.”
As a recipient of a scholarship through the College of Business, Krieger has been given the freedom to pursue his passions and focus on being a successful student.
“I want to be financially stable in my future,” he said. “This scholarship has been super beneficial because I’m actually able to pursue what I like and experience things that I enjoy rather than having to sacrifice that so I can afford to pay my bills.”
“This scholarship has been super beneficial because I’m actually able to pursue what I like and experience things that I enjoy rather than having to sacrifice that so I can afford to pay my bills.”
Thanks to the resources provided by the College of Business’ Business Career Center, along with advice from his professors and advisors, Krieger has a path to make that dream a reality.
“The support system at the College of Business has been so strong and I’ve had so many great experiences,” he said. “Over the last four years, I’ve learned so many invaluable experiences that I don’t think I would have had anywhere else in the country.”
These experiences wouldn’t be possible without the support of generous donors who continue to support the College of Business and its students during Glow Big Red and beyond.
The impact of their gifts can be seen just by looking at the smile on Krieger’s face as he moves closer to achieving his dreams.
“The value of your gift is almost immeasurable because you’re furthering my education farther than I ever expected,” Krieger said. “…You’re providing students like me with the opportunity to pursue our passions and grow to be the best individuals and professionals we can be.”
This expendable fund was created as a general fund to support and enhance the UNL Dance Program. The UNL Dance Program is the only one of its kind in Nebraska. Your support will provide critical funding to advance the work of our students and faculty and will ensure that we provide an environment of excellence for the current and next generation of dancers at Nebraska.
Dance has been a part of University of Nebraska–Lincoln student Maddie Krueger’s life since she was three years old. Nearly two decades later, Krueger is a proud member of the dance program in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, where she’s majoring in dance. Krueger is also pursuing a degree in elementary education.
Alongside her elementary education major, being a member of the dance program has allowed Krueger to pursue her passion for dance in a supportive and welcoming environment filled with people who share some of the same passion as she does. “(The UNL dance program) has helped me grow as a person and as a dancer,” Krueger explained. “I’ve developed great friendships through the program.”
“I've developed great friendships through the program.”
In March of 2023, UNL hosted the American College Dance Association North-Central Conference. During the convention, students from Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota gathered on campus to participate in world-class performances, classes and workshops.
“I actually got to take a class from my former ballet instructor from back at home in Kearney, Nebraska,” said Krueger. “That was great.”
Donor support of the UNL dance program positively impacts the program’s students.
“I received a scholarship from a donor for being a dance major and that allowed me to purchase the dance attire and the shoes that I need for class,” said Krueger. “(Without donor support) I wouldn’t be getting a degree in dance. I wouldn’t be able to afford it at all.”
“Dance has always been part of who I am and who I want to be,” she said. “I really am so appreciative of all the experiences that we have been gifted from the generosity of our donors.”
“I really am so appreciative of all the experiences that we have been gifted from the generosity of our donors.”
Your support during Glow Big Red impacts the lives of students like Maddie Krueger. Thank you for making a gift to support UNL’s students, colleges and programs and for helping make this year’s Glow Big Red a success!
A gift to this fund supports students by providing scholarships recognizing academic excellence and financial need. The scholarships are awarded through UNL’s Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.
For out-of-state University of Nebraska–Lincoln students Evan Detina and Nathan Weber, their college experience includes more than academics. Detina and Weber are active members of the UNL Men’s Ice Hockey Club, a student-run Division III team playing in both the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association and nationally under the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
Weber, a junior accounting and finance student, spoke about his first impressions of the University of Nebraska, “I instantly fell in love with the city, campus and university.” Detina, a senior majoring in agricultural business, echoed Weber’s sentiments. “This is definitely what college is supposed to be like,” he said.
For both Weber and Detina, the team quickly grew to be more than just an athletic outlet. Being part of the team instantly gave Weber a home away from home and contributed to his mental well-being. “I remember I came to practice the first day, no expectations and I made 30 instant friends,” said Weber.
Detina, the team treasurer, pointed out the valuable skills members can gain beyond the rink.
"We get to do so much in terms of management, communication, budgeting... it's not just a sports environment, but also a management environment," he said.
“My favorite memory has to be nationals my freshman year. We went in and upset a conference rival, and it was just one of the most memorable wins in my entire hockey career,” said Detina.
As a club team, the Men’s Ice Hockey Club is mostly player-funded, with team members paying over $2,000 a year to play the sport they love. This financial weight can bar students from being able to participate in the club “I can name a few people who have had to stop participating because of that burden,” said Weber. “If we want to keep the club alive, we kind of have to find a way to eliminate those costs.”
Ongoing Donor support is one important way the UNL Men’s Ice Hockey Club can take their skillset to the next level. “The more support we get from donors, the more opportunities we have,” said Detina.
The team travels to the ACHA National Tournament yearly to compete against teams from across the country. “Some of the donations definitely go toward that trip,” Detina said.
“So having that burden lifted a little bit is a huge help to our program.”
Thanks to generous donations, the UNL Men’s Ice Hockey Club continues to compete and get students involved while creating a community for students.
Donor support for the hockey club does not stop at helping the team. The team is an active philanthropic body, dedicating certain nights during their season to the Wounded Warrior Project and the American Cancer Society. “It’s cool that we’re able to use our platform to do that philanthropy and charity work as well,” said Weber.
Your support during Glow Big Red impacts the lives of students like Evan Detina and Nathan Weber. Thank you for making a gift to support UNL’s students and helping make this year’s Glow Big Red a success!
For students like Whitney Schwisow at the University of Nebraska– Lincoln, academics go hand in hand with extracurricular activities. Schwisow, a senior majoring in actuarial science, is an active member of the UNL Fast Pitch Softball Club, a thriving part of the university’s athletic culture.
Schwisow’s journey to the university was guided by both academic and financial considerations. “Nebraska has one of the top actuarial science programs in the country,” Schwisow explained. “Scholarships made it a lot more affordable than any other options.”
Outside of the classroom, Schwisow is the president of the UNL Fast Pitch Softball Club. “I went from playing competitive sports my whole life to just being a student. … As a very competitively driven person, having this outlet has been awesome,” Schwisow said. “It gets me away from the books and away from my laptop, it’s good for both my mental and physical health.”
However, sustaining a club team comes with financial challenges. “Donor support goes directly towards the cost of games such as umpires and travels,” Schwisow emphasized. Fundraising efforts have enabled the team to undertake initiatives like participating in a spring training tournament in Florida as well as expanding its reach and opportunities.
Looking ahead, Schwisow sees continued donor support as crucial for the team’s growth and success. “With donors’ support, getting to do more tournaments, like going to Florida, gives us a chance to play against different teams,” Schwisow explained. “It motivates players to practice harder and reach higher levels.”
Because of donor support, the club softball team is more accessible to students. “We’ve never had costs prohibit players from participating,” she said. “If there’s somebody who is struggling to meet the dues that we have for this semester, we have never forced them out of play. We’ve always been able to find funding to cover those costs.”
“We’re just a group of girls that love to have fun together and play the sport,” said Schwisow. “The community we foster is super important to freshmen coming to campus and that’ll be a community they’ll have for the next four years.”
Your support during Glow Big Red impacts the lives of students like Whitney Schwisow. Thank you for making a gift to support UNL’s students and helping make this year’s Glow Big Red a success!
A gift to this fund supports students by providing scholarships recognizing academic excellence and financial need. The scholarships are awarded through UNL’s Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.
Victor Loma’s passion for understanding how things work began at an early age.
Loma remembers spending his days as a 12-year-old boy in Kansas City, Missouri with his father, an industrial electrician. He spent those days as a self-described “little assistant,” learning the ins and outs of a profession that would ultimately spark his desire to pursue a college education.
“It was right around that time that I got a lot of inspiration to try and further my education,” said Loma, a sophomore mechanical engineering major at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Loma is the oldest of six siblings and is the first in his family to attend college. Throughout high school, Loma said he worked hard to challenge himself by taking high-level courses in subjects such as math and physics.
Loma’s goal to attend college was always at the front of his mind. Using the money he saved up from working with his father, Loma would go on road trips that often included campus visits to dozens of colleges and universities in his free time.
Those campuses included places like Ohio State University, Arizona State University and California Polytechnic State University. It wasn’t until his senior year in high school that Loma discovered UNL. From the moment he stepped foot on campus, Loma knew that he found his home.
“Everybody that goes to UNL cares about this university,” he said. “I really loved the community and I just thought, ‘If I’m going to go to college, I want that connection.’”
Loma is the recipient of an N Fund Student Scholarship through the College of Engineering. As an out-of-state student, he said the scholarship has already played an important role in his education.
“Having this scholarship to help me get through college has been amazing,” he said. “It really helps me just focus on my classes instead of worrying about how I am going to pay for my tuition.”
Loma said the College of Engineering’s impact on his education thus far has been immense. The College’s facilities, classes and faculty have provided Loma with the resources needed to find success as he pursues his degree.
“I would say the College of Engineering has impacted me very positively,” he said. “It has definitely made me less nervous just because I have been able to be mentored by professors and people who have done the things I want to do.”
Loma hopes to combine his mechanical engineering degree with his passion for trains to make an impact within communities throughout the country. He pointed to plans that would introduce high-speed rail travel to states such as Texas as examples of places where that combination could be used.
“I really like what trains are able to do for communities,” he said. “They make everything much more accessible. I’m just really invested in trains and what they’re able to do.”
Loma knows he wouldn’t have the opportunity to make an impact with his degree if it wasn’t for the support of donors who contributed to the College of Engineering’s N Fund. Thanks to their support, he is on the path toward success.
“Because of this scholarship, I feel like I have more liberty over my college experience,” he said. “I’m very grateful to have this scholarship.”
This fund provides much-needed support for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resouces.
Anna Kobza spent her summers growing up taking care of horses and cattle in David City, Nebraska.
Kobza’s interest in agriculture was a departure from the norm in her family. They didn’t own farmland or livestock and her parents and siblings had mostly pursued careers in health care. Even so, Kobza was drawn to the field from a young age.
Kobza’s interest in agriculture flourished thanks to her participation in 4-H as a high school student. With each summer she spent caring for the cattle that had been loaned to her by a family friend, Kobza fell more in love with the field.
“I showed cattle throughout my high school career, and that’s what really sparked my interest in the beef industry and in pursuing a career in agriculture,” Kobza said. “It just really solidified that that was the industry I wanted to be in.”
Kobza has seen that dream come to fruition thanks to the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in animal science and works as a graduate research assistant for the college.
As the first in her family to pursue a profession in agriculture, Kobza was eager to learn as much as possible when she began her undergraduate career at UNL. That passion only grew the more involved she became within the college.
“I just remember being really excited that I could finally learn about all the things that I wanted to learn about, but didn’t have access to in the past,” she said.
“As I got further into my undergraduate career, I met so many friends and like-minded people that cared about the things I cared about and enjoyed the same things I did.”
The hunger to learn that Kobza experienced as a freshman has only grown during her studies as a graduate student. She pointed to the engaging research her department conducts, such as feedlot and digestibility studies, which puts her in the field daily.
“They’re very intensive, and so the day-to-day can look very different depending on the season,” Kobza said. “We definitely get the opportunity to be very hands on, which I would say is different than some other graduate programs.”
Kobza hopes to use her degree to become a feedlot nutritionist, giving her the opportunity to work directly with cattle feeders. Eventually, she hopes to manage her fiancé’s family’s ranch in western Nebraska.
CASNR has provided Kobza with the resources to fulfill her goals of pursuing a career in agriculture. The spark that was ignited inside Kobza as a teenager raising cattle in David City has only grown thanks to the support of the college’s community.
“Having professors that were willing to interact with students was so beneficial to me,” Kobza said.
“It felt easy picking back up where I left off as an undergraduate student because I felt so comfortable with my advisers and the rest of the faculty and staff.”
The support Kobza has experienced as a student also spreads to the college’s generous donors. She pointed to scholarships she received from the college as an undergraduate student as an example of how impactful supporting the school can be.
“One of the biggest things I would like to say is thank you for continuing to invest in CASNR,” she said. “This is a land-grant university and agriculture is our foundation, so helping ensure our futures in agriculture continue to exist is really important to us and helping us afford our education is not something we take for granted.”
Maria Dominguez walked across the stage during Undergraduate Commencement at Pinnacle Bank Arena in December with a degree in hand and a smile beaming from her face.
The degree represented years of hard work for the first-generation Agricultural Engineering major that began years before she took her first step on campus.
Growing up in Grand Island, Nebraska, the idea of attending college never entered Dominguez’s mind. That changed in seventh-grade, when she learned about the Nebraska College Preparatory Academy (NCPA).
The NCPA prepares first-generation students for college and their future careers by providing a combination of curriculum and access to a community of academic support and personal development opportunities. Additionally, NCPA college scholars receive full financial assistance to pay the cost of college.
Dominguez said she didn’t realize the opportunities NCPA provided until her freshman year of high school when she met with her counselors a week before applications were due.
“I just remember filling out the application the day before it was due and translating it back and forth with my parents because they didn’t know English very well at the time,” Dominguez said.
She was accepted into the program shortly after submitting her application, marking the start of her journey toward becoming the first college graduate in her family. Throughout high school, Dominguez said the support she received from NCPA pushed her to continue excelling in the classroom.
“There was such a great level of trust between me and the counselors,” Dominguez said. “I cared so much about completing the NCPA program, and my counselors felt like a family I could go to.”
With the resources she needed to succeed, Dominguez graduated from Grand Island Senior High School in 2019, ready to take the next step toward becoming a college graduate as an NCPA college scholar at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Dominguez began her college career as a physics major. She followed that path for two years but felt she hadn’t truly found her passion yet. Thanks to the resources and academic support provided to college scholars in NCPA, Dominguez was able to find a program she truly connected with.
“I needed to try something else,” she said. “NCPA gave me the advice to continue searching until I found something I enjoyed.”
She landed on UNL’s Agricultural Engineering program. She said the program molded everything she loved about physics with the emphasis agricultural engineering places on machine design.
“I took that route and I have not regretted it since,” she said.
Dominguez’s future is bright. Following graduation, Dominguez will begin a career at Northrop Grumman in Aurora, Colorado as a software engineer in the company’s space sector. As she prepares for the next chapter of her life, she is thankful for NCPA and its donors who support the program.
“I know that NCPA has impacted not only my life, but the lives of everybody around me,” she said. “I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many people and NCPA has facilitated that,” she said. “I don’t think that I would have gotten here without the help of NCPA, so I’m always going to be so appreciative of it.”
