VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Stetson University’s goal to create a more diverse student population helped some students achieve their dreams in graduation from a higher learning institution.

What You Need To Know

  • Nelson Quezada Herrera moved to the U.S. from El Salvador when he was seven

  •  He became a DACA recipient and recently graduated from Stetson University

  • Herrera became the school's first recipient of the American Political Science Association Diversity Fellowship Award

Nelson Quezada Herrera, 23, said it helped him achieve the dream his mother and grandmother had for him.

“They wish they would’ve had the opportunities that I was afforded and that’s why I care so deeply about making them proud,” he said.

Herrera came to the U.S. from El Salvador at age seven. Years later, he became a DACA recipient and received a full-ride scholarship from Stetson University, a private university in Volusia County. 

“Ever since I was young, I knew that completing an education was incredibly important so that I can ensure their financial security and give back for everything they’ve done for me,” Herrera said.

He received help from his political science professor and mentor Dr. Steven Smallpage. 

“I’ve known Nelson for four years and I got to meet him his first semester,” Smallpage said. 

Smallpage helped Herrera become the university’s first student to receive the American Political Science Association Diversity Fellowship Award. 

“It’s a very, very big deal,” Smallpage said. “There are so many deserving candidates across the nation and Nelson being one of them just is a testament — he is one of the best students we had at Stetson and certainly in the political science department in many, many years.”

Like Herrera, Hispanic students are getting their chance to attain a higher education. According to the latest data from Stetson, from 2010 to 2015, more than half of the university’s Hispanic student population graduated each year. The university was able to retain almost 70% of its Hispanic students each year.

“Stetson has really diversified in the last eight years,” Smallpage said. “For us, it’s really refreshing because we enjoy those perspectives and heard in the classroom.”

“The significance of a DACA recipient being able to graduate college is also very important and something I’m really proud of,” Herrera said.

Herrera graduated from Stetson University on May 8.

Herrera plans to pursue a PHD in political science at Emory University Laney Graduate School in Atlanta, Georgia this fall.