Perhaps the best word to sum up Brianna Benson’s role at Ը University is “caretaker.”
Benson is the assistant director of Community Engaged Learning in University College and oversees the CommUNITY Lab, where students in various scholarship programs, many of whom are first-generation, can find a responsive living-learning community that provides the support they need to succeed at Ը.
“We’re with them from start to finish,” Benson said, “We’re with you the whole four years.”
Because many students in the CommUNITY Lab are the first in their families to attend college, they often need extra help in navigating the university system, including areas such as registration, financial aid, housing, and all of their accompanying deadlines, keeping on track to meet the parameters of their scholarship programs, and issues such as stress, anxiety, mental health or financial insecurity.
The college experience, she said, can be overwhelming for all new students, but it is often compounded when a student is the first in their family to blaze the trail with no one to rely on who has been down the road before.
“Everything is new to our students, and they don’t always know the best place to start,” she said, “We can help them navigate the processes across the university and be able to feel like they’re going to have that information – here’s what’s going on, here’s what's in my power. We’re trying to create some empowerment.”
Working with a modest amount of grant funding, Benson and the two staffers she supervises offer programs “specifically to help these students create a sense of belonging and a sense of self here at Ը,” she said.
Students who have that connection, Benson said, are most likely to stay at the university and complete their degree.
Working with scholarship programs
Specifically, Benson works with communities of students who are attending Ը through various scholarship programs, including the LeBron James Family Foundation, the District of Columbia College Access Program, Say Yes to Cleveland and Upward Bound.
This year, Benson also took on a new cohort, the Elliot Scholars, 43 students who are part of a new scholarship program that aids first-generation students in any major who require financial support to attend Ը. The scholarships are made possible by the generous support of John and Fonda Elliot.
“Although only in its first semester, Bri has already devoted a great deal of time and energy to providing direct student support to the new Elliot Scholars, developing and presenting programs to support their success, and facilitating relationship-building between the Elliot Scholars and John and Fonda Elliot,” said Kelly Cichy, Ph.D., associate dean of University College.
Native Californian turned Ohioan
Benson is a San Diego, California native who moved to Ohio to attend Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and play softball there. Following graduation, Benson wanted to enroll in a master’s degree program for clinical mental health counseling, and since one of her Kenyon professors had gotten her graduate degree at Ը, Benson applied to Ը.
After graduating with her master’s degree in 2014, Benson spent the next four years working as a school-based mental health counselor in the Canton, Ohio, area with high school and middle school students, and then as an addiction counselor.
While the work was fulfilling, the burnout level was real, and when Benson began plotting her next career move, her thoughts returned to Ը.
Benson began working in admissions in 2018, and after spending five years recruiting students from the Columbus area and managing admissions counselors, she switched into her current role, after she and her husband had their son, and she wanted a position with less travel.
Called to help students
Benson oversees the CommUNITY Lab, Ը’s nationally recognized, award-winning college transition and success program that eliminates financial, academic, and social-emotional barriers for under-resourced students.
“Our main purpose is to help eliminate some of those barriers that students might experience by providing some wrap-around services to help them with any academic resources or financial barriers,” she said.
With the addition of the Elliot Scholars, Benson oversees more than 270 students, teaches Flashes 101, and collaborates with internal and external partners to support and advocate for students from admission to graduation.
While not a first-generation student herself, Benson understands the challenges well.
“Though I was not a first-generation college student, we did a lot of firsts with me in my family,” she said. “My mom put herself through junior college and then college, so when I was looking at school scholarships and processes, those were firsts for us. I was also the first in my family to go away for college, as well as live outside of California.”
Perhaps because she knows what it’s like to be far from home and away from what’s familiar that Benson is particularly sensitive to the student experience.
“Bri’s door is always open, and she creates a welcoming space where students know they can always stop by if they need advice or support, but also if they just want to chat or have someone cheer them on,” Cichy said. “At the same time, she is constantly working behind the scenes, building relationships, and collaborating with campus partners to remove barriers by connecting students with all the resources and support available to them.”
Benson, however, is quick to point out that her students support her as much as she supports them.
“I like getting to know the students and their stories and creating a connection with them,” she said. “I’m expecting my second child, and the students have been the sweetest, checking in on me and asking how I am doing.”
And Benson has the bonus of watching her students grow, succeed and graduate.
“It is kind of cool getting to see them come to the end of their journey and know the adversities they’ve faced along the way, see them grow and achieve their goal,” she said.