Jennifer Shoen
Director, Opportunity Scholarship and Outreach Programs, Northeastern University
Jennifer Schoen is passionate about helping first-generation college students get into and graduate from college. Jennifer has spent the last 30 years in higher education working with underrepresented students in both admission and retention roles. Currently, Jennifer is the director of the Opportunity Scholarship and Outreach Office at Northeastern University in Boston. She coordinates an alternate admissions process for the Torch Scholars program that uses non-cognitive variables to indicate potential beyond SAT scores and GPA. Jennifer is currently working on her doctoral dissertation, looking at the motivational factors of first-generation students from low-income backgrounds using the framework of The Hero’s Journey. In addition to her role as educator and student, Jennifer is also an author and speaker, helping first-generation students and their parents understand the college admissions process.