Now more than ever, our graduates deserve to be celebrated! With 90% of our students coming from low-to-moderate income families and 30% being first-generation college students, and when you consider the impacts of the pandemic, our Class of 2020’s perseverance is remarkable.
Twins Modestea and Adreanna Doud are two of the 1,800 college students that the Midnight Golf Program has aided in their journeys since their senior year of high school. This month, the Doud sisters earned bachelor’s degrees at the University of Michigan. Although there was no formal graduation ceremony to mark this major accomplishment, there is plenty to celebrate!
See Modestea’s and Adreanna’s stories below:
Adreanna’s testimonial:
On behalf of all past, present and future mentees of Midnight Golf, I would like to thank you for all that you have done in helping us achieve our goals. As a low income and first-generation college student, I did not feel that there were many resources that could help me transition into the next phase of my educational career. My twin sister and I were born to a young, single mother who sacrificed her dreams so that we could pursue ours. I was afraid to ask questions because nobody else in my family had been to a university before and I did not want to ask a “stupid question.” I didn’t even know what kind of support I needed. Midnight Golf gave me the tools necessary to succeed not only in college, but in life. From financial literacy to networking in the classroom, MGP provided me with the knowledge to make the most out of my college career while I was on my own. MGP blessed me with an additional family and support system. The bonds I created with the mentors and my MGP peers are irreplaceable and presented me with a home away from home. The lessons we learn from MGP are invaluable and serve as a stepping stone to many success stories. I am now a first-generation college graduate with a B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience. I graduated in four years from the #1 public university in the country with $0 in debt. I can attribute much of this success to MGP and its impact on students. I will now be working at the University of Michigan hospital before I continue on to school again. This is my new journey and I know MGP will be there to see me through to the end.
Modestea’s testimonial:
I have officially completed my undergraduate education at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. I received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Women’s Studies, with a concentration in pre- nursing studies. The journey was confusing, grueling, and sometimes discouraging, especially as a first-generation college student. It was overwhelming to pursue a higher education when I did not have an inkling of what work was entailed once I actually got there. Have you ever had so many questions, that you didn’t even know which ones to ask? That was me; I did not know what I needed to do for financial aid, what types of things I should purchase for my dorm room, or even how to get started in answering these questions.
Luckily, the Midnight Golf Program assisted in teaching me these things and many more along the way. I learned the importance of financial literacy, the necessity of networking, and developed the skills to become a successful student. I frequented my professors’ office hours, initiated study groups with my peers, and developed a strong relationship with financial aid workers. The workshops, tee-times, and friendships I gained at MGP allowed me to become the successful graduate I am today. The road was hard, but I had help along the way with the knowledge I obtained and mentors/friends from the program who guided me along the way.
I owe so much to everyone who has made Midnight Golf the astounding program that it is. I know the program will remain as successful as it allows its students to be.
A Q&A with Adreanna and Modestea Doud, MGP Alumni ‘16
What are your plans for the future?
Modestea: I am studying for the GRE and looking into cardio phlebotomy training so I can work for a couple of years before pursuing a master’s degree in nurse-midwifery.
Adreanna: I am also taking a two-year “gap” to work as a scribe at the University of Michigan and possibly become an EMT before going to medical school.
How did you get involved in the Midnight Golf Program?
Modestea: We moved to Detroit from Indiana in seventh grade. Raised by a young mother, we were taught the value of education and dreamed of attending an Ivy League school. Before our senior year of high school at Cass Tech, two friends told us about the Midnight Golf Program.
What was your MGP experience like?
Adreanna: I was in another mentoring organization (the Rhonda Walker Foundation). I fell in love with mentoring and wanted to create my own. Midnight Golf seemed like another opportunity to be involved with another mentoring organization so I could learn more to build my own one day.
Modestea: MGP was important for us because it was very different culturally living in Detroit over Indiana. The education system was completely different. Between the Rhonda Walker Foundation and Midnight Golf, it gave us community that we didn’t have. Midnight Golf focused on professional development, networking, negotiating and financial literacy. I think MGP was amazing. It was fun to learn how to golf.
How did your MGP mentors influence you?
Modestea: Ms. Sommer Woods was especially influential and we keep in touch to this day. I think the most important thing to me was the relationships I built there.
Adreanna: I definitely felt supported. The mentors want to keep in contact with you and they’re there for you whatever you need.
How did you decide to go to U of M?
Adreanna: Honestly I don’t know. I remember being focused on Ivy league schools and Johns Hopkins. I think it was because I got in state tuition completely covered.
Modestea: I decided on UMich because I became interested in the neuroscience program at the school. It has the best in the country and at the time, that was the major I wanted to pursue. It also helped that I already received an acceptance and full scholarship at UMich by the time I had decided to attend.
What skills that you learned in MGP do you use now?
Modestea: There are many small things that I learned that I don’t think I would have thought about had I not been in MGP. Like sitting in front of the class. I always went to office hours to build a relationship with my professors so they know how you learn. Get in good with financial aid. I always tell the biggest thing I learned was networking. I take everything as a networking opportunity.
Adreanna: Networking and financial literacy. They introduced you to the topic and talked about loans.
What advice do you have for someone who is about to start college in the fall?
Modestea: My best advice would be to venture out academically and socially while at the university. Some of my best experiences were going abroad, taking classes that weren’t immediately connected to my major, and trying new hobbies such as piano and painting. Don’t be so focused on your grades that you forget to take this time to develop new skills, talents, or ways to better yourself. Focus on learning overall, rather than just making grades.
Adreanna: Finding connections and networking as much as you can. That can be simplified by just going to office hours. The professors appreciate that when you come in. If they’re doing any research that could be a really good starting point to talk to them about it.
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