Nine cars filled with siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins followed Alexandra Bernadotte’s vehicle in a caravan as she arrived at Dartmouth as the first college student in her family. A Haitian immigrant raised in inner city Boston, Bernadotte was elated to lead her family with a shining high school report card and a résumé that reflected perfect preparation for college success.
But success did not come her freshman year. In fact, Bernadotte did so poorly that she was put on academic probation and required to take time off from school. She had assumed getting in to a university would be the hardest part of her going to school, but Bernadotte struggled with every aspect of college life—from the academic and the financial to the social and emotional.
Unfortunately, Bernadotte’s struggles in college are not unique for underserved youth. Only 9 percent of students from low-income families will earn bachelor degrees by their mid-20s compared to 77 percent of their higher-income peers.
Staggering statistics such as these are why Bernadotte, this year’s Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance Social Innovator of the Year, began Beyond12, a company that brings technology and human experience together to help low-income students successfully navigate their college careers.
“When it comes to solutions or social problems, we are used to thinking about people and not products,” Bernadotte says. “But I believe deeply that the integration of technology and human service is one of the only ways to achieve social change at scale.”
Bernadotte developed an award-winning app that helps remind students when to apply for scholarships and how to work within the college system. But what makes Bernadotte’s organization socially innovative is the integration of the app with staff members who are first-generation college attendees.
“An app can remind you of when your next exam is or when you need to file your FAFSA, but it can’t help you understand what’s stopping you from asking your professor for help,” Bernadotte says. “An app can send you weekly inspirational prompts but can’t reassure you that you are indeed college material.”
Bernadotte ultimately succeeded at Dartmouth, and when it came time for graduation, the caravan of cars following her as she left was even longer than when she arrived. Her vision now is i to be a caravan of support for low-income students so they too can rise above the statistics and gain a game-changing education. Reaching more students, according to Bernadotte, will require the integration of technology and human service because “humans don’t scale and apps can’t empathize.”
To hear more of Bernadotte’s story, watch below her TEDxBYU talk entitled, “What do we really mean when we say college isn’t for everyone?”
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Writer: Michaela Proctor