In 2023, for the first time in her life, Monyque Assis Suzano started living outside of her hometown. “I never had the financial stability to leave my house, but because of school scholarships, I was able to experience autonomy,” she says.

Originally from Brazil, Suzano is now a second-year PhD student in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, in the literacy education track.

"Being part of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction was the realization and continuation of a collective dream of public education,” she says. “As a college student, I was part of a first generation benefiting from the implementation of social and racial access for Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income/public school students. I am also the mother of a 14-year-old daughter named Luisa, who is currently in Brazil with my family.”

When Suzano moved to Minnesota, she was unfamiliar with the education system, tuition and student fees, and how to calculate taxes and deductions that would apply to her fellowship stipend. “In addition to that, I had to adjust to the climate, acquire proper winter attire, get additional heaters, and live my first semester in temporary housing,” she says.

After a while, Suzano gained some stability, moving into UMN graduate student housing and finding solidarity among her international community.

“Still, I couldn’t fully plan ahead due to all the changes related to housing, clothing, furniture, and the inability to save for my student fees,” she says. Suzano investigated available resources and applied for help from an emergency fund. “It was an empathetic resource that gave me relief and helped me become more financially literate,” she says. “If it weren’t for this initial support, I could never have found the alternatives, strategies, and personal growth needed to establish myself here as an autonomous student, a caring mother, and a supportive member of the international student community, especially for those who will come after me. These tools helped me grow academically, engage in conferences in my field, and build bridges between academia and the community through a transcontinental lens. I fully recommend this support to future students as they find their footing.”

Photos by Jairus Davis