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New alumna reflects on support through her CWRU journey

At the start of her senior year of high school, Nia Badley (CWR ’25) promised her mother she wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for Nia’s college education.

“As a first-generation student from a single-parent household, I was aware of the long-term impact of student loans,” Badley said. “I didn’t want to place that financial burden on either my mother or myself.”

Thanks to a full-tuition scholarship from �Ӱ���Ƶ, she kept that promise.

Badley qualified for the Cleveland Scholars program, which covers the cost of tuition for admitted graduates of Cleveland and East Cleveland public schools. The program has since been expanded to cover housing and additional costs, as well as paid research and internship opportunities.

She was also selected for the Nord Family Emerging Scholars Program—an initiative launched in 2011 to help first-generation students navigate the transition to college.

A recent commitment of $3 million from The Eric & Jane Nord Family Fund will allow the program to expand the annual cohort of entering students by 25%—from 12 to 15 students—giving more young people like Badley access to vital resources and guidance.

“Being part of the [Nord Family] Emerging Scholars Program has meant so much to me,” she said. “They empowered me to show up confidently in the world as both a student and a Black woman.” Badley originally planned to pursue biomedical engineering, but conversations with her mentors through the Nord Family Emerging Scholars Program helped her discover a passion for urban planning, sparked by a desire to design community spaces that better serve youth in neighborhoods like the one she grew up in.

She graduated this spring with majors in economics and pre-architecture, and a minor in social justice. She plans to work in community and economic development before attending graduate school.

“My education at CWRU has taught me how to address the needs of a community while preserving its historic character,” Badley said. “And being part of a diverse student body has helped me build connections that expand my thinking and my network.”