Inside Iowa State
Oct. 13, 1995
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Coach, Cheerleader And Friend

by Steve Sullivan
Debra Sanborn is in the middle of describing her new job as 
director of Iowa State's Hixson Opportunity Program when the 
phone rings. The caller is one of the hundred Hixson students 
with whom Sanborn has become fast friends during her first 
month on the job.

Sanborn beams when the student tells her that another Hixson 
student she has been unable to contact will be at an upcoming 
meeting. Having just demonstrated the biggest part of her 
job, Sanborn returns to her description.

"I see myself as a relationship manager," Sanborn said. "I am 
a special link for the Hixson students to every contact, 
every support system, every resource available to them at 
Iowa State.

"It's hard as a new student to figure out everything that is 
here for you. I'm here to convince these 100 students that 
they are not alone."

The Hixson Opportunity Program was established last March 
when Christina Hixson, sole trustee of the Lied Foundation in 
Las Vegas, Nev., gave $5 million to Iowa State. Hixson's 
generosity--the foundation of a $26 million scholarship 
campaign--established an inspiring scholarship program for 
Iowa students who have demonstrated potential to succeed at 
college, but lack the resources because of financial and 
personal hardship. 

Each Hixson student receives a full-tuition, $2,500 
scholarship. The goal of the program is to annually choose 
one student from each of Iowa's 99 counties for the 
scholarships.

Sanborn arrived on campus at just about the same time the 
Hixson students did. Her first task was finding--and 
meeting--the 100.

"I first went to the residence halls and started knocking on 
doors. I climbed to the top of the Towers (residence halls)--
all four of them," said Sanborn, who prior to coming to Iowa 
State served as director of admissions and international 
marketing at Menlo College, near San Jose, Calif., and 
director of admissions at Upper Iowa University, Fayette.

Sanborn's task is to develop orientation, retention and other 
support programs for the Hixson students. But Sanborn's 
involvement with the students goes beyond offering advice on 
financial aid and arranging programs on stress management. 
She already has helped students with roommate problems, 
parking difficulties, flu shots, health insurance and a few 
family issues.

Sanborn also will play an integral part in the effort to 
recruit future Hixson students.  For that effort, she is 
turning to some of her best resources--the Hixson students 
themselves.

"I work for them. This is their program," she said. "There 
are not many opportunities for students to come into a brand 
new scholarship program and shape it for every student who 
comes after them. They are the beta class. They get to test 
everything and make the program more beneficial for 
everyone."

Many of the students already have volunteered to be 
ambassadors for the Hixson program and for Iowa State. The 
Hixson "Lieders," as they have dubbed themselves in honor of 
their benefactor, periodically will travel the state with 
university officials and talk about the Hixson program to 
student groups and others.

From attending regular meetings to acting as ambassadors, the 
first Hixson students face a lot of expectations in the first 
year of their college careers. But the group has taken on the 
additional responsibilities with great enthusiasm. There are 
at least two reasons for this.

One has to do with the quality of student the Hixson program 
has attracted. The Hixson students average in the 74th 
percentile of their high school graduation classes with an 
average score of 24 on their ACT exams. The class also can 
boast a high level of participation in high school, community 
and church activities.

"The Hixson program is geared toward students who have gone 
through either a lot of financial or personal hardship-- 
sometimes both. Some people might be surprised at the caliber 
of student we have attracted," Sanborn said. "These students 
truly are scholars."

The other reason for the enthusiasm that seems to imbue the 
program is Sanborn herself.

"I come off like a cheerleader," admits Sanborn. "I have a 
lot of enthusiasm for the program and I think . . . I hope 
it's infectious. Having someone who is so interested and 
gung-ho about the program helps the students feel that it is 
OK to be excited about it, too."

The success of the program ultimately will be measured in 
diplomas, and that fact does not escape Sanborn, who is a 
member of Admissions' special recruitment team. The average 
retention level for an ISU freshman class is about 82 
percent.

If more than 82 of the 100 Hixson students are retained, it 
will say a lot about the benefits of special, individualized 
attention to students, she said.

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University Relations
Iowa State University