Renée Suzanne Frodin (BBA ’97) with her sons Jon, right, and Dave Frodin. PHOTOS BY NATALIE BATTAGLIA
THE POSSIBLE DREAM
A college degree may have seemed out of reach for Renée Suzanne Frodin, but that didn’t stop her from trying / BY AARON COOPER
As a teenager, Renée Suzanne Frodin (BBA ’97) faced chal- lenges that far exceeded the “normal” growing pains of her peers. She grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago in a poor family. During her high school years, she dropped out of school, got married, and started having children. By age 21, she and her husband had four young chil- dren with no prospects of building a solid future for their family. Despite Frodin and her family living on food stamps, she eventu-
ally earned her GED. But she knew that would only carry her so far. “Everyone I knew who had a good life for their children and was suc- cessful was also educated,” says Frodin. “They had more than a GED, and they were able to make a better life for themselves and their children. Despite my circumstances, I wondered what I could do to make a better life for my kids, because that wasn’t how I envisioned them growing up.” Frodin applied for grants and got into Prairie State College, a community college based in Chicago Heights. She worked hard
and earned good grades. Again, she found herself wanting more. A student there told Frodin that Loyola University Chicago offered a Presidential Scholarship and encouraged Frodin to apply. “At first I thought, ‘That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever
heard,’ ” says Frodin. “Why would a prestigious university like Loyola want anything to do with someone who got a GED, had a bunch of kids, and went to junior college? But I also thought, ‘What would it hurt to apply?’ ” So Frodin did apply, and one day a letter from Loyola arrived telling her that she had been accepted to the University— and awarded the scholarship. “It was like the skies opened up,” she says. “I just couldn’t believe
it. It was the best break I’ve ever gotten in my life. To go someplace like Loyola was unthinkable for a person like me who had the life that I had. Many people thought it was ridiculous that I even tried.” At the time, Frodin and her family lived in Richton Park, Illinois. She took the train to class every day, about an hour commute each
22 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48