First Generation Student – Freny Lopez

Andrea Byerly
Tuesday, April 2, 2024 12:00 AM
Press Releases, All, Community

Part 1 of 4: In celebration of Community College Month, Cleveland State Community College will highlight a different aspect of the college each week of April. The primary goal of Community College Month is to improve awareness of the economic, academic and equity advantages of attending community college.

CLEVELAND, TN - At the age of 23, Freny Lopez became the first person in her family to graduate high school. A year later, she enrolled at Cleveland State Community College as a Tennessee Reconnect student. Now a nursing major, Lopez plans to graduate in May 2025 and become a pediatric nurse.

Lopez was born and raised in Norcross, Georgia. When she was 16 years old, her family moved to Guatemala, her parents’ native home. After four years, Lopez returned to the United States and finished high school via correspondence classes while she lived on her own and worked as a receptionist at an obstetrician’s office in McMinn County. 

This experience opened her eyes to the opportunities in the medical field. Without her knowing, one of the doctors requested information from Cleveland State on behalf of Lopez. “For someone to go above and beyond for me and give me that college information was huge,” shared Lopez. 

Discovering that scholarships were available through the Tennessee Reconnect program, Lopez knew it was time to go to college. “Before I started school, I was working full time,” said Lopez. “I could take care of myself, and I could send money to my mom in Guatemala. That was a big burden, but something told me to go for it. I am putting all my trust in God at this point, and it is working out.”

Tennessee Reconnect provides tuition assistance for individuals who are 23 years or older and have not already completed an associate or bachelor’s degree.

As a first-generation college student, Lopez said, “I was so confused. I didn’t know where to begin, but I made an appointment and enrolled. I’m thankful for the resources here; otherwise, I would just be going in circles.”

“Freny Lopez is without a doubt one of the top three students I have ever had,” said Dr. Eddy Dye, CSCC Biology Instructor. “She possesses a unique combination of intelligence, compassion, diligence and character that is unsurpassed. Those attributes ensure her being a credit wherever she is present. Knowing her has been a blessing; a feeling shared by all who know her.”

Lopez lives in McMinn County and was able to take prerequisite classes at the McMinn Higher Education Center (MHEC) in Athens before starting the nursing program in Cleveland. She worked as a Federal Work Study student at MHEC and has been accepted to the Honors Program at the college.

"I am very proud of Freny, and I admire her work ethic and dedication to her studies,” shared Kimberly Howard, Technical Clerk at MHEC. “She is truly a phenomenal student as well as a bright young woman, and I know that she will be successful at whatever the future holds for her."

“I would love to go beyond and get my bachelor’s degree and someday a masters, but right now, I am focusing on my associate degree,” said Lopez. “Just finishing high school was a first step in my family. I am thankful for the break that I had between high school and joining the workforce, living on my own and just seeing the actual demands of life. When I decided to go back to school, I knew that I had to take this seriously. Now that I’m in college, I’m balancing life work and school work and maybe some personal life in between. I know I have the potential to do it.”