{"id":16799,"date":"2026-11-12T15:08:58","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T20:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/collegetrack.org\/?post_type=scholar_story&p=16799"},"modified":"2026-11-12T15:08:58","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T20:08:58","slug":"youll-find-your-people-senior-scholar-elvis-on-choosing-grinnell-college","status":"publish","type":"scholar_story","link":"https:\/\/collegetrack.org\/es\/scholar-stories\/youll-find-your-people-senior-scholar-elvis-on-choosing-grinnell-college\/","title":{"rendered":"“You\u2019ll Find Your People”: Senior Scholar Elvis on Choosing Grinnell College"},"template":"","community_tax":[163],"partner":[],"program":[206],"class_list":["post-16799","scholar_story","type-scholar_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","community_tax-new-orleans-la","program-college-thrive"],"acf":{"details":{"featured_image":16812,"authors":"","abstract":"Elvis almost didn\u2019t choose Grinnell College. In conversation with fellow College Track scholar Elshaday, the New Orleans native reflects on four years in Iowa and the advice he\u2019d give students weighing their options.","helper_taxonomies":{"article_type":false,"community_tax":[163],"partner":false,"program":[206],"role":false,"region":false}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

A College Track New Orleans scholar reflects on four years at Grinnell College and the advice he\u2019d give students weighing their own options.<\/h4>\r\n

Elvis didn\u2019t plan on Grinnell College. As a high school senior from College Track New Orleans<\/a>, he wasn\u2019t considering the small liberal arts college in rural Iowa, about 15 hours from home. His principal saw something he didn\u2019t yet, telling Elvis that at Grinnell, he would find his people.<\/p>\r\n

Today, Elvis is a senior at Grinnell, and after graduation, he plans to pursue a master\u2019s degree in mechanical engineering.<\/p>\r\n

His path also points to what\u2019s ahead for other College Track scholars. College Track and Grinnell recently announced a new partnership that will welcome cohorts of first-generation College Track scholars to Grinnell, beginning in fall 2028.<\/p>\r\n

Elvis sat down with Elshaday, a College Track Aurora<\/a> scholar at the University of San Francisco and College Track\u2019s social media associate, to talk about choosing Grinnell, the friendships that shaped his time there, and his advice for students weighing their own options.<\/p>","":null,"drop_cap":false,"helper_width":"narrow"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_pull_quote","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_pull_quote":{"quote":"My first fall break, I flew home, and after three days I wanted to come back already.","image":16807,"image_position":"right","meta":{"name":"Elvis, College Track New Orleans","role":"Class of 2027","work":"Grinnell College"}}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Why did you choose Grinnell?<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cTo be honest, the first time I came here, I didn\u2019t really like it. I felt out of place, and the only thing you could see around was cornfields. But my advisors from high school went out of their way to convince me to come here. My principal pulled me aside and told me, \u2018You\u2019re not a big school type of person. At Grinnell, you\u2019ll find your people.\u2019 And then the financial aid covered everything. So I gave in and said, okay, I\u2019ll go there.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nI left Aurora for San Francisco, so I know what it\u2019s like to be far from home. Grinnell is about 15 hours from New Orleans. What has that been like for you?<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cMy first fall break, I flew home, and after three days I wanted to come back already. There\u2019s nothing in Grinnell, literally nothing, so for you to want to come back here, that\u2019s pretty crazy.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhat experience at Grinnell has stood out to you most?<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cThe bond I\u2019ve built over the past four years with international students. Most of my friends are from Ethiopia, East Asia, or are Latino. I never thought I was going to have so many international friends.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nIs there a class or professor that stood out?<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cMy first year, I took Humanities 101, a classics class on the Iliad, the Odyssey, Plato, and those sorts of authors, with Professor Dustin Dixon. The way he structured the class and approached everyone stood out to me. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up taking two or three more classes with him, and I\u2019m not even a classics major.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs a fellow senior, I\u2019m thinking a lot about what comes next. What are your plans after graduation?<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cI want to go to grad school for a master\u2019s in mechanical engineering. There\u2019s a good engineering program in Iowa City, about an hour from Grinnell, so I\u2019m thinking about applying there. I\u2019m also exploring ROTC and the Air Force as a path to help make that happen.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nYou almost didn\u2019t come to Grinnell. Looking back, was it the right choice?<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cLooking back after four years, I\u2019ve realized this was the best choice, not because of the financial aid, but because of the people I\u2019ve met, the knowledge I\u2019ve gained, and the education here.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhat advice would you give a high school senior?<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cDon\u2019t limit yourself. Sometimes the option you\u2019re not considering at all is the best option. As a high school senior, I wasn\u2019t considering Grinnell at all. So think twice about that option you\u2019re not really thinking about. It might be the best option for you.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhat would you tell a student about to start at Grinnell?<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cGo out to events and meet new people. I don\u2019t think you can make it alone, at Grinnell or any other college. Having even one or two friends, that unexpected group of friends, helps you deal with classes or whatever you\u2019re going through. It helps a lot to make it through.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe\u2019re both seniors now, so we\u2019ve experienced a lot. What would you tell students starting their first year of college?<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cHave fun your first year, but also keep in mind what you actually want to do. Don\u2019t just take random classes and say, \u2018I\u2019ll figure it out later.\u2019 And don\u2019t be afraid to make mistakes. Looking back, the best thing that happened to me was the mistakes I made. I wouldn\u2019t change them. They got me to where I am now.\u201d<\/span>","":null,"drop_cap":false,"helper_width":"narrow"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_related_stories","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_related_stories":{"manually_curate":false,"posts":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\n"You\u2019ll Find Your People": Senior Scholar Elvis on Choosing Grinnell College - College Track<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/collegetrack.org\/es\/scholar-stories\/youll-find-your-people-senior-scholar-elvis-on-choosing-grinnell-college\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""You\u2019ll Find Your People": Senior Scholar Elvis on Choosing Grinnell College - College Track\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/collegetrack.org\/es\/scholar-stories\/youll-find-your-people-senior-scholar-elvis-on-choosing-grinnell-college\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College Track\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/collegetrack.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Copy-of-DSC05898-1-scaled-e1793391676925.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1412\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/collegetrack.org\\\/scholar-stories\\\/youll-find-your-people-senior-scholar-elvis-on-choosing-grinnell-college\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/collegetrack.org\\\/scholar-stories\\\/youll-find-your-people-senior-scholar-elvis-on-choosing-grinnell-college\\\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"You\u2019ll Find Your People\\\": Senior Scholar Elvis on Choosing Grinnell College - 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