Early Reflections on the 2021-22 DNMS Alumni Survey

Isaac Hernandez (Loyola Marymount ‘22) on campus in Los Angeles

At the Davis New Mexico Scholarship, we aim for our alumni to become economically self-sufficient adults who give back to their communities. To assess our progress toward this goal, we conducted a survey of our 49 alumni in the spring of 2021; thirty-nine respondents completed the survey. Our main purpose was to try and understand the post-graduation trajectories of Davis New Mexico Scholars, as well as the impact of the scholarship itself.

In general, graduates of the Davis New Mexico Scholarship are doing well; thirty-three respondents are either employed full time or in graduate school. Alumni are relatively evenly split between working in the private sector (including accounting, hospitality, and business development) and the public/nonprofit sector (mostly in healthcare, education, and government). They are also coming back to New Mexico after graduation: twenty-six of 39 respondents live in the state, and another 7 live in neighboring Texas (2), Arizona (1), or Colorado (4).

Moreover, graduates of the Davis New Mexico Scholarship understand the tremendous impact the opportunity has had on their lives. Over nine out of ten respondents reported that, because of the Davis New Mexico Scholarship, they were able to do things other first-generation college students and even recipients of other scholarships were unable to (Chart 2). And, 92% of them feel that their current position is leading towards a fulfilling career– a wonderful snapshot of the impact of their degrees (Chart 1).

This post is organized around three charts: the first aggregates survey questions that ask students to reflect on their lives during and after college; the second captures reflections on the scholarship itself; and the third attempts to quantify alumni economic self-sufficiency. Each section includes a brief introduction and analysis.

One contextual note before diving in: these students are in their first five years after graduation, and some of the results reflect the general anxieties of students who graduated into the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, over 10% of recent college graduates are “underemployed,” and this number is dramatically higher for first-generation college graduates.

Davis New Mexico Scholars’ Experience / Satisfaction During and After College

Our first set of data asked our alumni to reflect on their experiences in college and with the Davis New Mexico Scholarship. While we regularly collect informal data on the experience of current college students, we have never previously asked alumni to reflect on their time in college from their post-grad vantage point.

CHART 1: DAVIS NM SCHOLARSHIP ALUMNI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE (n=39) 

According to an October 2021 Pew Research study, about 70% of young college graduates felt that their degrees were helping them in their careers.  For Davis New Mexico Scholars, those numbers are higher.  While not all alumni are satisfied with their life or careers thus far, it is clear that the vast majority have found their time in college and their career paths satisfying. 

For alumni who reported general dissatisfaction across their college and post-grad experiences, we are curious about other patterns that may emerge from survey data, including difficulty around the transition to college and reflections on our program from earlier classes when systems and supports were significantly less developed.

Reflections on the Davis New Mexico Scholarship 

The next group of questions asked alumni to reflect on their experience as  Davis New Mexico Scholars— both with the program and in comparison to peers who received other scholarships.

CHART 2: ALUMNI REFLECTIONS ON THE DAVIS NEW MEXICO SCHOLARSHIP (n=39)

We are proud of the fact that Davis New Mexico Scholars understand that they are cared for as a person as part of the scholarship– this “whole person” approach is central to who we are and how we operate. And, while we would want every scholar to feel trusted by us, it is true that we require systems and oversight (especially in cases of a student who has previously had significant challenges) that may cause  a student to feel like they are not fully trusted. 

The next set of questions demonstrates the singularity of the scholarship: students understand that this program is unique, even in the context of what their peers and recipients of other scholarships to their college or university received. This extra programming and extra support is reflected in our graduation rates that far exceed the average for both first-generation college going students and scholarship recipients more generally. 

Davis New Mexico Scholarship Alumni and Financial Health 

The final set of questions we are sharing here probes our graduates’ financial wellbeing. The survey asked questions about whether or not students feel financially secure, have stable housing, and have health insurance– all indicators of social mobility and becoming part of the middle class. We also asked questions about future financial planning, including whether or not alumni  have saved for education for themselves or others, and whether or not they own investments.

CHART 3: DAVIS NEW MEXICO SCHOLARSHIP ALUMNI FINANCIAL WELLBEING (N=39)

In 2020, nearly one fifth of U.S. households experienced housing insecurity, and young low-income renters were particularly likely to be housing insecure.  The fact that no Davis New Mexico Scholarship alumni reported housing insecurity is a low bar, but a vital one, that we are pleased to have crossed. Additionally, three quarters of scholars reported being financially secure– a number we hope will improve as the economy slowly recovers and students are further removed from graduation. 

Interestingly, we have not yet turned the corner on ensuring all of our scholars are saving for retirement and/or vested in the stock market, which we feel is an important part of building wealth. It is both something we plan to target in additional  alumni programming, and a trend we intend to watch as scholars move further away from graduation and entry-level positions, and deeper into their careers.

Some Preliminary Conclusions

The fact that the Davis New Mexico Scholarship is in a position to collect this data is a significant achievement. Completing this survey  means that our students are graduating, that they feel connected to the scholarship, and that we are building an apparatus to support their continued engagement with the scholarship program. 

Parts of this survey speak to the need for more alumni programs involving career placement and financial fitness, a burden we want to be sure we share with our college partners and their career services offices. Most of all, though, the data speaks to the positive experience students have as part of the program; even when they are less than satisfied with the college experience, their job prospects, or their current trajectory, they nonetheless understand the tremendous value of the Davis New Mexico Scholarship.