A First-Generation College Grad Helps Others Get Their Degrees

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in inner-city Boston, Alexandra Bernadotte was the first person in her family to go to college. “When the letter from Dartmouth came, we treated the moment almost as if we had won the lottery,” she says. Her parents, younger sister, grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins piled into 10 cars for the trip to New Hampshire to drop her off.

But she says getting into college was easier than what followed. She struggled with classes, and the university required that she take time off during her sophomore year. With the support of her family, a mentor, and fellow students — and a lot of hard work — Ms. Bernadotte regrouped and graduated on time.

In 2009, when she had been out of college for 17 years, Ms. Bernadotte started Beyond 12, which helps low-income, minority, and first-generation college students stay in school and earn their degrees. The group has worked with more than 7,000 students. Of those who received guidance over four years, 72 percent graduated.

Now Ms. Bernadotte’s betting that technology can fuel a dramatic expansion. Her goal: to serve one million students annually by 2025.

The group hires recent first-generation college grads to provide virtual coaching via phone, email, and even Snapchat. Beyond 12 recently developed an app called myCoach that helps students navigate processes like applying for financial aid and connects them to campus resources. Freed from such routine tasks, coaches can focus on bigger needs, like counseling students who question whether they belong in college or helping those who are struggling to balance family responsibilities and school.

“An app alone is not enough,” Ms. Bernadotte says. “It’s this marriage of an app and a human that will allow us to effectively guide students but also scale.”

The app, a semifinalist in the Robin Hood College Success Prize, is now midway through a three-year randomized control trial to measure whether it improves graduation rates.

Beyond 12 is also working on ways to quickly identify students most likely to need help, so the group can act before grades slip. The data may eventually show what is most effective in helping students overcome certain problems, which would be good news for all college students.

“If you look at college-completion rates, they’re abysmal across the board,” Ms. Bernadotte says.