For Caterin Rodriguez, attending Southern New Hampshire University is her dream. But, as the first in her family to graduate high school, navigating complicated financial aid forms and SNHU’s application has been overwhelming.

“I want it to be perfect,” Rodriguez told Adam Howard, the college and career counselor sitting next to her at Manchester West High School. Her fingers hovered over her laptop as they worked through questions on the SNHU application.

Had anyone helped her with her application, it wanted to know.

“Only one,” Rodriguez said, turning to Howard. “You.”

Annmarie Timmins / NHPR

As of this fall, Howard is no longer getting paid to help Rodriguez and nearly 100 other first-generation and low-income high school seniors in the state. But he has kept showing up, for fr

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