Access ASU’s TRIO helped grad find her community and succeed
Divina Ranger is the spring 2025 Dean's Medalist for the School of Transborder Studies. Courtesy photo
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2025 graduates.
Divina Ranger was not planning on attending college.
Now, she is graduating with a degree in transborder Chicana/o and Latina/o studies and is the spring 2025 Dean's Medalist for the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University.
When asked how she was able to attend ASU, Ranger attributed it to TRIO, a set of programs offered through Access ASU.
“I wanted to continue pursuing academics, but my body was saying no and academia was saying no,” Ranger said. “All of a sudden, TRIO said yes. They helped me to find my footing again.”
TRIO helps students who are first-generation, low-income, veteran or who have disabilities achieve their dreams of higher education through both financial support and by encouraging students to form connections on campus and establish a sense of community.
“TRIO is an incredibly supportive network of students, faculty and staff that helps people who may not know how to find their way at college,” Ranger said. “You can connect with like-minded people and go to events you usually could not afford.”
She first heard about the opportunities offered through TRIO at ASU’s Student Accessibility and Inclusion Learning Services. Ranger said TRIO encouraged her to make the most of her college experience.
“It provides the extra push to explore our own personal interests within such a ginormous school,” she said. “TRIO makes it feel a lot smaller, and more family- and friend-driven. It’s really important to be connected as people instead of just being a statistic.”
When Ranger first arrived on campus, she set out to be a pre-med student, studying biosciences, chemistry and philosophy. As an honors student at Barrett, The Honors College, Ranger initially struggled to find a balance between her academic and social lives.
“I burned out in my first semester,” Ranger said. “I thought, ‘Oh, I can’t do this.’ I really respect people who can, but it just wasn’t for me.”
Ranger came back to ASU with the help of TRIO’s programming, and she began researching a new field of study.
“I searched through all of the ASU majors on the Tempe campus, and I randomly found transborder studies,” Ranger said.
Ultimately, Ranger decided to study transborder Chicana/o and Latina/o studies because of her personal connections with these communities.
“I had not been able to explore my heritage since I moved to Arizona,” Ranger said. “This degree tied in everything I was interested in, from health care to the creative arts to Mexican-American experiences. I found a whole new community through it.”
During her time in the classroom, Ranger appreciated how many unique individuals she was able to learn from and establish friendships with.
“Everyone is just so different and unique,” she said. “They always embodied what made them different, and that surprised me. I never felt like the odd one out because we were all the odd one out.”
Ranger has gained a range of experiences during her time at ASU. In 2023, she interned at an acupuncture clinic in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, to learn about holistic medicine and treatment plans. She also worked as a customer service representative for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and volunteered as a deputy field organizer in 2024 for NextGen America to organize voter registration events on the Tempe campus.
For her honors thesis, Ranger wrote a 120-page screenplay for a psychological thriller based on themes from her Mexican cultural and religious heritage.
After graduation, Ranger plans to move to Minnesota and continue her higher education journey. She is pursuing a fellowship that will allow her to work full-time as a teacher while also attending classes for her master’s degree.
When asked if she had any advice for students just getting started on their journey at ASU, Ranger encouraged incoming first-year students to reflect on their passions to drive their futures.
“Look internally at what you want to do and what you love,” Ranger said. “Listen to your own heart instead of what everyone else is trying to tell you.”
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