First-generation college students drive growth at Southwest Minnesota State

Affording college felt like a constant worry for Peda Zeba. Growing up in tiny Adrian, Minn., the child of immigrant parents from Burkina Faso, Zeba had the drive to pursue a degree. Paying for it, however, would be a challenge.

But here he stood, on campus at Southwest Minnesota State University as an incoming freshman, spending three weeks in the university’s intensive Summer Bridge program with a chance to earn eight college credits for free.

Southwest waived the summer room and board costs and the tuition charge for those credits, giving Zeba and others a jump-start on their degrees. It’s part of the university’s successful efforts to draw in first-generation college students, who are now fueling its growth.

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