https://www.humansofcentre.org/

Humans of Centre College, Danville, KY (2026)

04/07/2019

(5/5) “When I think about Centre’s Grissom scholarship I think about family. For me my cohort is a big reason as to why Centre has felt a lot like home. I mentioned my two really good friends... whenever I miss home we all just play some bandas and say, we’ll be home soon. All of my other Grissom sisters and brothers... they’ve definitely made it feel like there’s someone on this campus who is always there to help whenever I’m overwhelmed. Grissom has created this safe space for individuals to just not have to be ok all the time, for individuals to not have to put on this “I’m doing great” face all the time. It's good because most of the time it gets, really overwhelming on campus. I’m so blessed because I sometimes think about how it would be if I didn't have Grissom. Feeling this way also makes me want to reach out to those who don’t have or aren’t affiliated with programs like Grissom. Bonner too has definitely allowed me to make the best relationships on campus in such a little amount of time. There’ that saying...“you meet people in college who you feel like you've known for a lifetime,” and thats so true. I’ve literally only met some people for a couple of months and I'm already like, “do you want to be my maid of honor? It’s stuff like that that is so crazy and funny.

I’m definitely a super family oriented person and just being ok with being alone has definitely been one of my favorite and one of my least favorite parts of college. Also, just figuring out what I like and what I don't like and starting new has been great. Tapping into stuff that I didn't know I liked, for example, art. Surrounding myself with people that have different interests has also allowed me to explore new things. I’m excited to go hiking and that’s not a thing to do in the valley because its all flat. Finding new interests and discovering things that were never offered to me before, that’s definitely been my favorite. I think it’s so crazy how you have to plan your time in college because it flies by. I’m constantly thinking about my next move and my future.”- Aranxa Parra, Class of 2022

04/04/2019

(4/5) “I definitely came to Centre having a life planned out for myself... I’m gonna go in, get a biology degree and go to PA school, go back home and then you know establish myself as a PA... that doesn't seem like its gonna work... I mean I’m still very much interested in the medical field but I don't know if that’s what I want to do after school. Another reason why I chose Centre was because its a liberal arts institution and I believe there’s so much that I didn’t learn in high school. For example, I've taken two Anthropology classes and both were super fascinating to me so maybe Anthropology and Sociology will be a major part of my academic focus? I don't know. That’s definitely one of the things that I want to figure out. There’s so much I want to learn. My dad not knowing any of this, he’s just like what do you mean... you’ve been saying that you’re gonna be a doctor for I don't know how long and I was like yeah dad but you need to understand that there’s so many things that I’ve never learned about and that I could make a good career out of. I think there's this constant thing of being a first generation student, being expected to make a lot of money and go into the medical field or be a lawyer, etc, even though you don't necessarily have to do that in order to obtain a stable career and life. I definitely want to figure out what I want to do, find more interests, build my opinions on a lot of subject matter, etc. I know Centre is great at at bringing issues to the table and allowing people to speak their voices. Being in south Texas there’s all these issues but there isn't a table for many to speak their mind. And I want to get my seat at the table... I want to use my voice to speak up and share the special experiences I have gone through. At Centre there’s all of these different events that I have the opportunity to go to, to become educated and form my own opinions. I also just want to grow as a person and figure out what I like, what I don’t like and figure out what I’m passionate about.”- Aranxa Parra, Class of 2022

04/02/2019

(3/5) “Centre was definitely not my top choice just because it was the only school in my list that I had not visited before decision making was happening. A lot of the other schools that I was receiving acceptances...financials weren't working out and that was one of my top priorities at the end of the day. Being a first generation student, my parents had no idea how the whole college process worked, it was a whole big process during my senior year of high school. My parents, especially my dad, was like “she’s not going out of state, she’s gonna stay here, she's gonna stay where her family is,” and I was like dad, I need to go where the money is. He didn't want to like let me go far away. Towards the middle of my senior year I was receiving more acceptances and my dad was finally coming around. I received most of my in state acceptances and my award letters and they just weren’t good enough for me to stay in state. Then Centre offered me the New Horizons scholarship, and then they offered me Bonner and then I became a Grissom scholar finalists, so little by little Centre just really gave me opportunities to make it happen and to leave home. I was definitely more into leaving just because I wanted to go out there and explore. All my college counselors were like “Aranxa, you’re the type of person who can share their story and make a change elsewhere” and I didn’t believe it until actually experiencing it. I came to Centre for the scholar finalists weekend and Grissom definitely made it feel like home. Later I decided to be a Bonner leader and it was just this constant feeling of home. Literally when I told everyone I was going to Kentucky, everyone was like “what’s in Kentucky?” and I was like Centre College. So in the beginning Centre was definitely not my top choice but it soon became my top choice after I visited and made these super cool relationships with student leaders, teachers, etc.”- Aranxa Parra, Class of 2022

04/02/2019

(2/5) “I think definitely the people I hang out with, shows part of my identity. Two of my closest friends are also Mexican, the interesting part is that one of them is from northern Mexico and the other one is from southern Mexico and I’m from the middle of Mexico. A lot of the customs that we have mix together and some of our other friends can see this. We’re always like really loud too. The Centro Latino organization in Danville has definitely helped bring a little bit of my home culture and identity to Kentucky as well. Being a latina, I feel like I’ve definitely embraced my culture here a lot more just because there aren't a lot of people here that are of my culture. Back in south Texas, like 90 percent of the population is latino so it wasn't very hard for me to show my culture because everyone practiced it. Here I’m like wow, not everyone listens to my type of music or not everyone knows my slang or not everyone dresses like me. It's been an identity transition from younger me up to present me. What I stand up for, convocations that I go to... stuff like that, allows me to share my experiences with people and express my identity on and off campus.”- Aranxa Parra, Class of 2022

04/02/2019

(1/5) “I was born in San Luis Potosi Mexico but I moved to Edinburg, Texas when I was eight years old in 2008. I was mostly raised in Mexico, but my family and I we were coming back and forth from Mexico to Texas so, I did have a little bit of American culture in my very early childhood years. I think this is definitely important when thinking about my early childhood identity because I struggled a lot with my identity and with my nationality. I questioned myself at the time, asking whether or not I was Mexican or American or a little bit of both. It was definitely a struggle for my older brothers when we made the definitive move to the United States. They denied their newly acquired American identities and they didn't want to speak English. I just really wanted to fit in and I really wanted to learn the English language because I didn't like feeling different. It was a struggle for me too because I moved as a third grader and third graders are really mean, especially when you can't defend yourself because you don't know what they’re telling you, while they’re being really rude to you, so it was definitely a struggle learning the language. All I did was read. I read a lot of Percy Jackson and a lot of Harry Potter, which is why I think I’m super into science fiction, just because it was my first step into getting to know the American culture.

Now that I think about it, the education system was really hard too, especially in South Texas. In South Texas, there were those teachers who were equipped to help you but there were those teachers who didn’t know or speak Spanish and so they didn’t know how to help me. I couldn't learn if they didn’t translate for me. It just went at a fast pace, taking school content to my home and just having to learn some of it myself. Having an accent was hard as well, there are certain things that I still say with an accent that catch my attention.”- Aranxa Parra, Class of 2022

03/28/2019

(4/4) “Why is the Centre community unique? I think our students who come here, through some combination of who they are at their core and the experiences they’ve had to date, all share the commonality of having high expectations for themselves and each other. This is a good thing. I expect students to do their best, I expect them to be their best. I don’t think that’s putting the bar too high. I sometimes worry a little bit that the students aren’t always well-equipped to deal with disappointment, to deal with failure, to deal with defeat. Am I alarmed about this? No. But, it is a matter of some concern. To be clear, I want every Centre student to be safe and cared for and to experience some rich combination of successes and victories, with enough failure and disappointment to keep ‘em humble and grounded and tough-minded, if you will. If we don’t create some combination along those lines, I would argue we haven't provided a first rate education. Sometimes, a student experiences disappointment in academics or through sports or sometimes through music or theater or whatever. In the end, I want the students to believe that they couldn’t have made a better college choice, even if it wasn’t always perfect.

Let me tell you three reasons I like to be president of Centre College: students, students, students.

And, commenting on the College’s bicentennial, I hope all of us will be able to say overtime that we helped make Centre a better place. And I mean all of us- students, faculty, staff, parents, friends of the College, everyone. I know that 100 years from now, people will look back and say “What were those people even thinking?” ‘Cause they were not here among us to understand and know our hearts. But, in the next moment, I hope they look back and say we see strong evidence of how well we worked with each other, how we were kind and generous with each other, how we supported each other, and how we achieved so much! Yeah, I will be satisfied with that outcome in 2119.”- President John Roush

03/28/2019

(3/4) “The future? I could see Centre creeping closer to 1500 students in the future, and we might even begin to grow out more for our study abroad program, which I think is unarguably already the best in the nation. I think we’ll continue to be a place of highest quality. And, to be clear, quality is the real driver of why young people want to attend Centre College. I think the diversity of our student population will continue to stay about what it is right now, which is strong, though these numbers may change moderately over time. We will continue to make progress on diversifying our faculty and staff – continuing our habit for finding outstanding, talented people from all persuasion who want to be part of our community.
Now, the part I can’t fully answer about the future is the ways in which our students will learn and prepare themselves for their lives of work and service. The role that study abroad now plays in the education of Centre students is extraordinary, and I believe that “study away” opportunities in several of great American cities will become more “regular” in time. Another example may be students showing up with different expectations – expecting to major in history with a minor in Spanish, and, then, be “expecting” to end up as a stockbroker on Wall Street. And, then, that same student will ask, respectfully, to the faculty and the administration: “Please help me do that.” The ways in which students study and learn has changed radically over the past two decades, and this will continue. Our “bread and butter” at Centre – deeply personal education – will continue, but there will be changes – guaranteed. The good news is that Centre will “make these changes,” but it’s really going to require us to shift our thinking. The experience and the ideas students have about how they might best prepare for their future have already started to change, and this will continue to change rapidly going forward.”- President John Roush

03/26/2019

(2/4) “Since I became president, Centre has changed in remarkable ways, and it’s changed for the better in all ways in my opinion. When I arrived, we had about 1000 students. We now have about 1450 students. When I got here we had only 10 or so students from other countries. Now there’s about 125. When I got here, Centre was a very good place, but we weren’t an especially diverse place. We were diverse in terms of socio-economics, and we still are, but we weren’t so diverse in terms of race, religion, geography, nationality, etc. Since then, the college has evolved – and, that’s the right word here – in ways that are remarkable and for the good. Together, we have accomplished what I refer to as the trifecta: there are more students from many different places, they’re of higher quality and more curious, and they’re more diverse in all ways one might measure it. Centre is a better, faster, and stronger place then when I got here. And, all of this is really a high compliment, not to me, but to all of the people who have worked at this institution to make it a better place. So, I’m really proud of what we’ve done together, including the students, to make Centre a better place and to tell the story of this institution in better and more convincing ways. And at the end of the day, the students here are the living proof. That’s why we are what we are and why we do what we do – making a difference in young people’s lives and sending those students into the world to do something that counts.”- President John Roush

03/26/2019

(1/4) “I became the 20th president of Centre College on July 1st, 1998, which was also my 48th birthday, so I’ll never forget when this all started for me. Before coming here, I was working at the University of Richmond as Vice President, and I was actually giving some serious consideration to getting out of higher education. I had had a full and successful 20-year educational career by anyone's measure, and the prospect of doing some media or consulting somewhere in Virginia had some appeal. And, then, I get a call, and it’s from a person here at Centre College inviting me to be a candidate for the presidency of Centre. So I came out here because I knew about Centre, I knew about its quality, and I really liked the people I met. I went home and told Susie that about my experience and the mission of this institution. So, normally when you get involved in one of these presidential searches, it takes months. But, not this time; inasmuch as I, effectively, was offered the job in about 30 days...You may or may not know, but I am a person of faith – and, though I try not to wear it too much on my sleeve, I make no apology for it – and, this time I really felt like maybe Centre was where I was supposed to be. I feel blessed to have had this opportunity. I think we’ve had the time to accomplish some really good stuff, mostly making a difference for in young people’s lives.”- President John Roush

03/11/2019

(2/2) "It’s hard for everyone to move away from home, no matter where you’re from. Moving to Centre I basically had to say goodbye to my family since I couldn’t just go and see them at anytime. Some days you miss them a lot, and other days you’ll be too busy to miss them.
I think a lot about all of the good friends I’ve met here and how they have helped fill the “absence family void.”

I absolutely think the existence of the Grissom scholarship has played a big part in my current enrollment at Centre. The Grissom scholars understand that people come from a lot of places around the United States, even the world. We are entrusted with a sort of mother figure in our adviser Sarah Scott Hall. Everyone in Grissom knows she’s our go-to person. Everyone would describe Sarah as the type of person who will answer the phone at 2 am and pick you up after a car wreck. She obviously makes being at Centre the best. She’s one of the reasons we’re so safe, sane and enjoying our time at Centre. Without her, I wouldn’t have had the friends I now have and the opportunities that I have had. I probably wouldn’t have ever come to Danville without her and the scholarship. The scholarship has been incredibly vital to me at Centre. Being a part of it has allowed me to become a valued member within Centre’s campus community." - Cesar Romero, Class of 2021

03/11/2019

(1/2) "I am now a Sophomore at Centre College. I was born in Lima, Peru and moved to Boston, Massachusetts when I was two years old. I came to Centre College with the Grissom Scholarship and I try to be involved within the Centre community as much as I can.
Coming to Danville from where I had previously lived is, for me, coming to a very unknown place. I grew up around a lot of people of different colors, different ethnicities, different foods, different languages, etc. A place with always something new around the block. Here, it’s mostly a traditional, small town area with the same stuff happening every day.

I was a little nervous moving from home to Danville. I grew up mostly around people with classic liberal thinking and ideologies. I knew Centre would have much more of a mix of ideas and that’s been something interesting to navigate through. A lot of people worry about coming into a much more conservative state like Kentucky, but it’s been very good to come to a new environment. I grew up with the understanding that everyone comes from a different background. I’ve had a better time being a colored student in Centre’s majority white population. Though, I do recognize that some students have not been as fortunate as me. However, I’m trying to be as involved as possible in Centre’s community, because not everyone has an easy time on campus." - Cesar Romero, Class of 2021

03/11/2019

(3/3) "Immigrant parents in general are very protective of their children. I never went to sleepovers as a child. If my parents didn’t know the other parents super well, which they never did since we moved around so much, you just couldn’t really go over to their place. My parents always wanted us to be super modest, so I never even wore shorts until high school. It’s always weird little cultural things people never really think of. But then you get used to it I guess.
Lexington has been my favorite place I’ve lived in by far since its way more diverse than other places I’ve been to. There’s actually a community of Arabic people in the city that lots of places just don’t have. We’ve all just been treated better in Lexington than other places. The other small towns we lived in just never really saw non-white people at all. Lexington is incredibly diverse. Kentucky was not at all what I thought it would be. Even though we do have the random run ins there, it’s the first place I’ve lived in that actually feels like home now. Also, Lexington is a foodie town. It’s GREAT there.

It’s been weird being at Centre, because in Egypt, you choose your college based on where you live. My parents went to school in Alexandria because that’s where they both lived. My parents wanted me to go to UK since it’s so close to home, but I wanted to go to UC Berkeley, so Centre was a compromise. I didn’t want to go to Centre at all at first. I literally cried when I sent in my acceptance papers. But, I immediately changed my mind after being on campus for a week. I’ve made so many friends here and I never want to be away from them now. It was hard at first since I’d never been away from my parents before, but now things are better. I’ve had a lot of weird first experiences here. Friendships and relationships here got super close, super fast, and that was just something I never could do before moving around so much. I think I’ve changed a lot here and I question who I am now. Centre has been somehow the best and worst time of my life at the same time. Part of Arab culture is always being dependent on your family, and that’s something you just can’t really do once in college. I’ve really had to learn to be totally dependent on myself." - Salma Geneidy, Class of 2021

Humans of Centre College

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03/28/2019

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