Student Spotlight: Dr. Manuel Serrano

As a first-generation student, college wasn’t just a personal goal — it was a dream my family had for me. My journey through higher education was deeper than personal ambition; it was a promise to my family, who worked tirelessly to give me this opportunity.

My family comes from Mexico, where both my parents had only completed up to third grade. They both worked long hours harvesting crops in the fields to ensure my siblings and I could have more than they grew up with. My mother and father worked tremendously hard to give me a good life, and I knew that working hard to receive my college degree was the least I could do to pay them back.

School constantly presented me with new challenges, but my parents always inspired me to keep working toward the end goal — graduating from college.

I remember struggling to learn trigonometry in 8th grade. I spent late nights doing my homework and trying to understand the subject. When my dad noticed I was having a hard time, he stayed up with me and taught himself trigonometry to help me. This is just one example of his support, but it speaks volumes about the kind of man he was — someone who would go to any length to see my siblings and me succeed.

My mom was the same, constantly celebrating our success in school. Whenever we got good feedback on our assignments or from teachers, my mom was there to praise us. Her face would light up with pride, which continued to make my academic journey even more sacred. Earning my degree felt like the biggest win, not just for me, but for my mom and dad, whose pride made every step of the way feel like something special.

I knew what I wanted to study for my college degree from a young age. When I was 11, I attended a summer engineering program at New Mexico State University. From that moment on, I knew engineering was my path to success.

But getting to the finish line wasn’t something I did alone. From day one of my undergraduate experience through the final moments of my doctoral defense, I had the steady support of the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) — a federally funded initiative designed to help students from migrant and seasonal farmworker backgrounds succeed in their first year of college and beyond. It wasn’t just academic resources — it was a community that believed in my potential and stuck by me every step of the way. One of the program’s leaders, Dr. Cynthia Bejarano, was more than a professor — she became a mentor and advocate, and even served on the committee that reviewed and approved my doctoral dissertation. That kind of belief in a student stays with you.

With every degree I earned — my bachelor’s, master’s, and ultimately my PhD in Mechanical Engineering — I carried my parents’ words and sacrifices with me. My achievements weren’t just for myself, they were a tribute to all their hard work, dedication, and belief in the power of higher education. They may never have fully realized it, but they dreamed on my behalf — and for that, I’ll carry lifelong gratitude. I remember my father telling me once, “My American Dream came true the moment I realized my children would have access to the opportunities that I could only imagine.” These powerful words have stuck with me and remind me that my degrees were way more than just pieces of paper.

As I hold my PhD, I see how far my family and I have come. Receiving college degrees fulfilled not only my dreams, but my parents’ as well. Education is about more than just your success — it’s about uplifting those who sacrificed everything for your future. As a first-generation college graduate, I chose to share my story so that it can inspire others to chase after their dreams regardless of the odds stacked against them. My journey should serve as a reminder that completing college can be more than a milestone — it can be a fulfillment of generational hope.