At UMKC, students write their own stories, form their own definitions of success and chart innovative career paths. With Kansas City as their classroom, they turn dreams into reality every day.
Emily Shoemake
Anticipated graduation: 2027
UMKC degree program: History
Hometown: Troy, Missouri
When Emily Shoemake was looking for colleges, she didn’t have high expectations.
“I had negative preconceived notions about what college would be,” Shoemake said.
As a high school student, she watched as her older sister battled cancer while trying to earn her degree, fight administrative hurdles and keep her scholarship as a student athlete. The experience left Shoemake and her family with a skeptical outlook of whether the college she chose would live up to the common promise of support and community.
So, when the time came for her to decide where to go, Shoemake knew her priorities. She and her family toured UMKC, where they learned about support programs like First Gen Roo, Peer Academic Leadership, Roo Wellness and the Raj Bala Agrawal Care Center. It sounded great, but given their experience with her sister’s institution, they were skeptical. Despite her hesitation, Shoemake decided to take a leap of faith.
“I chose UMKC because they offered more resources than I ever thought I would need,” Shoemake said. “It was my first week when I realized that UMKC intended on following through with their promise to care and help me succeed here.”
Shoemake got involved with First Gen Roo, a program that supports students with programming designed to help them get familiar with and adjust to college. It was during a First Gen program where the realization of that support became overwhelming.
She talked with the program director, Megan Elsen, who helped Shoemake get in touch with Roo Wellness and counseling services.
“They made sure I was okay, which is incredibly comforting,” Shoemake said. “So after that first week and after that day, I think I was able to settle in and adjust and realize that this campus is offering everything that I'm going to need to succeed and focus on my academics.”
And she has. Shoemake said she has found support from many professors who she has found approachable, helpful and dedicated to helping her succeed.
“UMKC is one of the only schools that truly delivers on its mission statement,” she said. “I’ve actually been introduced to some contacts in the history department through First Gen about some opportunities with learning more about World War I, and the potential internships, and study abroad. So there are lots of connections just based through networking and talking about my interest with history.”
In addition to classes, Shoemake has joined Professional Career Escalators, where she’s learned career skills and networked with professionals.
“They've been helping with resumé building and how to come off professional in interviews, whether it be a career fair or things like that,” Shoemake said.
She has also taken part in the honors program and student organizations such as history club, where she knew she’d found her crowd from the day she attended the welcome back potluck.
“It felt like for the first time I stepped into a room full of people like me,” Shoemake said. “That evening left me with a sense of home I was not expecting.”
After working her first semester as a student support specialist for Peer Academic Leadership, Shoemake is now training to support other students by becoming a mentor herself.
She has no plans to slow down: she’s working on two papers she hopes to publish and has signed up for a study abroad trip to the Netherlands in the summer to learn about art, culture and history with an itinerary that includes stops at the Van Gogh Museum, Rembrandt Music Museum, concentration camps and Anne Frank's house.
With her first year having exceeded her expectations, Shoemake said she’s proud to be a Roo.
“The people here are what set this apart,” she said. “And if there's one final thing I am proud to say, it's that I am a person at UMKC, and I will make a difference.”