How Are Our Alumni and Alumnae Doing?

Written by Veronica Favela, Director of Alumni Outreach

I am often asked to report numbers and I am happy to share about three of my favorite numbers: 50. 78. 62.

If you’ve been around Saint Martin the past few years then you know all about these numbers. Fifty represents the number of graduates in our first class, the Class of 2008. Seventy-eight represents the number of graduates in the Class of 2009. And 62 represents the number of graduates in the Class of 2010. These 190 students were given an opportunity and rose to the occasion.

As the Director of Alumni Outreach, I think about these 190 students all the time and I reach out to them on a daily basis. I also spend a lot of time placing their experience into context and measuring our progress. In order to accomplish this, I have become well-acquainted with some staggering data:
• 69% of high school graduates in the United States directly enroll in college.
• Only 63% of Ohio’s high school graduates directly enroll.
• Only 55% of low-income students directly enroll in college.
• 83% of Saint Martin graduates have directly enrolled in college.
• Where overall college attendance of low-income families is 57% nationally; for a Saint Martin alum that number is 88%.
• For the fall 2010 semester we had 72% of our graduates in college, already completed with a two-year program, or serving in the military. And I am confident that percentage will increase during the spring semester!

With numbers that are 30 points higher than national averages, it is important for us to share our results with everyone we meet. We have something to contribute to the ongoing discussion about improving educational attainment in our region. It is also important to note that we are always looking to improve upon our results.

Even more importantly, though, it’s important to keep in mind that these numbers represent members of our family who are still just college kids who are always on the lookout for spare quarters for laundry and a postcard saying “way to go, kid!” We are proud of them and proud to provide them with as much support as we can.