UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When it came to navigating an unfamiliar environment at Penn State, Bunton-Waller Fellow Haley Parker kept one motto in mind: “We’ll make it work.”
Parker, a second-year student majoring in psychology, minoring in Spanish, and completing a business fundamentals certificate, is putting her passion for helping others at the forefront of her academic career. With interests in mental health, law, politics and entrepreneurship, she aspires to enter a career that will allow her to connect with individuals from all different backgrounds.
“I want to understand people’s minds and why they work the way they do,” Parker said. “I want to be able to help them in that sense, not only mentally but emotionally as well.”
Parker said her background in the College of the Liberal Arts has helped her greatly throughout her undergraduate experience and has prepared her for postgraduate life. The connections and network she has already built have provided her with a support system of students, faculty, and staff.
“The College of the Liberal Arts is so diverse,” she said. “That is one thing that has helped me move through college and given me resources to be where I’m at now and prepared for the future. The network and especially the support is incredible.”
She credits this support to her mentors in the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program, Kelly Caplan and Randy Houston, who help her navigate her career, jobs, classes and even emotional support.
“They both have connections through every department and through all different networks. Kelly is like my mom away from my mom. I rant to her about everything, and she gives me advice,” Parker said.
Parker also credits another mentor, Earl F. Merritt, director of the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity in the College of the Liberal Arts. Merritt serves as a mentor to Parker through the Bunton-Waller Fellowship, a scholarship program that was named in honor of Mildred Settle Bunton, recognized as the first Black woman to graduate from Penn State, and Calvin Hoffman Waller, believed to be Penn State’s first Black graduate.
“I got this amazing opportunity from Penn State, and I would not be here without it. It has given me a foundation to succeed and allowed me to feel comfortable here on campus,” she said.
Her first year, Parker grew close with many other Bunton-Waller Fellows. They shared a scholarship dorm floor and attended a first-year seminar class together. This, Parker explained, gave her a family here at Penn State of students, faculty, and staff.
On top of being a successful scholar, Parker is a proud first-generation student. She said being a first-generation student gives her a bigger sense of pride in her accomplishments at Penn State.
“I love to call my parents and tell them about everything that I’m doing and hearing how amazed they are,” she said. “They always think it's so unbelievable that I’m doing all of this at my age.”
Parker explained that there are both benefits and challenges to being a first-generation student. She said it is difficult not having immediate resources at home. While she does have support emotionally, she’s had to learn many aspects of college independently.
Despite the challenges, Parker said there are many benefits to being a first-generation student and that she’s built a community with other first-generation students, which has helped her feel more independent and prepared for not only college but the postgraduate world as well.
Wanting to connect with her community and her culture, Parker currently serves as the Latino Caucus representative on Penn State’s University Park Undergraduate Association.
“Being the Latino Caucus representative taught me how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Parker said. “As a Latina woman, I don’t know the language which is something I was really uncomfortable with in my own identity. I love the Latino Caucus because that’s a lot of people’s stories as well. A lot of people don’t speak Spanish, but we want to learn more about our culture.”
Parker’s experience thus far at Penn State has given her an immense number of opportunities that she never dreamed of achieving in high school. While she says she is still unsure of what she wants to do in the long run, she knows that the College of the Liberal Arts has prepared her for whatever direction she takes. She also credits her family for her success. As a child of a low-income family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she has exceeded all their expectations.
“We have a family motto of ‘we’ll make it work.’ My brother and I are both in college, and my parents only live off one income. No matter what, they always made it happen,” she said. “Being here and having the experiences that I have I know is a privilege, but there are times where it does get hard. When this happens, I continue to always tell myself ‘we’ll make it work.”