Earlier this month, freshmen at the University of Minnesota Rochester packed the halls of their downtown campus for an activities fair, looking for new ways to spend their free time.

Among them was Fatima Abdulkadir, an 18-year-old from Faribault studying dental health. She chose UMR because of its health care focus, as the campus is steps from Mayo Clinic.

“Oral health isn’t talked about a lot. Everyone is usually pre-med. Like gingivitis, and all these things. They aren't talked about as much as cancer,” she said.

Abdulkadir is also the first in her family to go to college. She said it’s a big deal.

“You’re first gen, so it's more expected to get better opportunities for yourself,” she said. “I think [my family is] proud.”

In many ways, Abdulkadir is emblematic of UMR’s unusually la

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