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Jennifer Hardacker was always told she was smart as a child.

“Smart, not cute. I was too tall to be cute,” she said. “For me, for validation, I had to continue to be smart.”

She was a self-professed geek in high school, lettering on an academic team, and determined to go to college.

Her high school counselor wasn’t as supportive. “You think college is for you?” Hardacker was asked.

“My parents were 17 when I was born, and the counselor had counseled my dad.”

She found her way to Indiana University anyway — though she discovered that there were important things she didn't know about college.

“I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker, but they don’t have a film program,” she said. “I didn’t know to look for that.”

Instead, she earned a degree in German.

“I remember my grandfather would call and say things like, ‘I went to the chiropractor today. It was $500! You should be a chiropractor.”

The assumption in her family, like others, was that you went to college solely to get a specific job.

“It doesn’t work that way,” Hardacker said.

A liberal arts education is more about opening up new worlds and building the knowledge that can support a variety of career pathways.

Hardacker eventually went on to earn an MFA in cinema and photography. She is an associate professor in 91���� University’s media arts program, and she did go on to become a filmmaker, creating several award-winning pieces.

She's also one of several 91���� University staff and faculty members who offer support to today's first-generation students through their own examples and success.