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Home » News » How a college freshman raising her brother became one of Austin Peay’s rising stars

How a college freshman raising her brother became one of Austin Peay’s rising stars

By: Brian Dunn November 6, 2025

This photo captures a group of people seated around a table, engaged in conversation during what appears to be a casual lunch or meeting. In the center, a young woman with a name tag is the focal point. She is wearing a black sweater over a collared shirt and smiles pleasantly as she listens to someone off-camera to her right. To her left, another person is partially visible, looking in the same direction. The back of a man in a light-colored suit jacket dominates the foreground on the right. On the table, there are plates of food, including a sandwich and what looks like tater tots, along with a clear plastic cup of dark liquid. In the background, a digital screen displays an advertisement, and a coffee maker sits on a shelf.

Cici Dominguez during the Larry W. Carroll lunch in October 2025 at Austin Peay State University.

If you see Citlali "Cici" Dominguez on the Austin Peay State University campus, she'll likely be in motion.

She might be heading to the Kimbrough Building, portfolio in hand, to lead a strategy meeting for the student-managed Larry W. Carroll Govs Fund. Or she could be crossing the plaza to her job as a resident assistant in Sevier Hall, a role she balances with a 3.5 collegiate GPA, a full senior course load and multiple internships across Clarksville.

She is a scholar who has presented research at national conferences. She is a mentor, a leader — and she built this success herself.

This Cici Dominguez wasn’t the same person who first stepped on campus.

Her story begins four years ago, with an 18-year-old freshman staring at a notification that her grade-point average had fallen to 2.6. She had failed her first college class, English 1010, and as a result, lost her Tennessee HOPE Scholarship.

She worked 40 hours a week as a server and was the primary caregiver for her 9-year-old brother, who was in third grade. She was exhausted, overwhelmed, and considered dropping out.

How does a student one failed class away from leaving the university transform into one of its most accomplished leaders? The answer lies in a two-word mantra: "brilliance and resilience."

This photo captures a nighttime outdoor gathering, likely a bonfire or pep rally, illuminated by warm light. In the center, two young women are posing closely together for a photo, smiling brightly. The woman on the right, wearing a white headband and red cardigan, has her arm around the woman in the brown sweatshirt next to her. A young man, seen from behind, stands just in front of them, holding up a smartphone to take their picture. The surrounding crowd is bathed in the glow of the fire, which is off-camera. Several people, including a woman on the far right, are holding white or orange glow sticks, adding to the festive, dark ambiance.

Cici Dominguez at the 2025 Homecoming Bonfire in October.

The Crucible

Dominguez’s freshman year was not a typical transition to college. At 16, a difficult family situation prompted her to move out. By 18, she was attending APSU, renting an apartment and serving as the primary caregiver for her younger brother, Brandon, who was then 9.

"That's the only reason why I failed that first class in my freshman year," Dominguez said. "'Cause I was being a mother."

Her parents, who immigrated from Mexico, had barely finished elementary school. As a first-generation college student, Dominguez was entering a world her parents didn't know.

"Nobody in my family would ever talk about college," she recalled. "So this is all new to me, like I'm navigating this blind."

Her daily routine was a relentless loop: getting Brandon to school (making her late for her 8 a.m. class), taking 16 credit hours, and working a 30- to 40-hour week as a server.

"Go to class, go home, go to work, and do it over and over and over," she said.

Dominguez said the failure wasn’t due to a lack of intellect — she later retook the class and earned an A — but from a lack of time and resources. The failing grade and loss of her scholarship nearly ended her future at APSU.

This photo captures a busy scene at what appears to be a college fair or event. In the foreground, several people, including a young woman smiling brightly on the left and another woman beside her, stand behind a long table covered with a red cloth. They are all wearing matching red polo shirts with a logo. The woman in the center is focused on adjusting a small, vertical banner on the table that says "GOVS." The table is neatly arranged with brochures, pamphlets, and other promotional materials. In the background, more people, both attendees and staff, are lined up along the table and milling about, indicating an active event.

Dominguez at the College Fair in September 2025.

The Turning Point

"Once I failed the class, it flipped a switch for me," Dominguez explained, noting that the failure became a catalyst. "I didn't want to be okay. I wanted to be great."

Her first proactive step was an email to the financial aid office.

"I think it's a Latino thing where we tend to be individualistic and ask for help," she said. "That was the first email I sent. It opened my mind to communicating."

Her next move was strategic. She applied to become a resident assistant, or RA. Securing the position provided free housing, a meal plan and a stipend.

The position solved her immediate anxieties. Dominguez, a future finance minor, analyzed the shift with perfect clarity.

"When you [look at] Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the most bottom one of basic necessities, home, food, shelter, and safety, that was taken care of," she said. "Once that base was done, I was moving up. School was never the problem. It was having the time and the opportunity to do it."

With that stable foundation beneath her, the "brilliance" half of her mantra — the part connected to her given name, Citlali, meaning "star" in Aztec — was finally set free.

In a modern conference room, a woman stands giving a presentation. She is wearing a brown sleeveless top and dark trousers, gesturing with her hands as she speaks. Beside her, a large digital screen displays a slide titled, "How has this prepared you for a business career?" The slide features a bulleted list on the left and a blue stacked diagram on the right, detailing skills like "Project Management" and "Team Collaboration." A white-erase board is visible on the wall behind her. The foreground shows the blurred tops of conference tables and chairs.

Dominguez presenting about the Tennessee Small Business Development Center.

The Ascent

With her basic needs met, Dominguez’s focus shifted from surviving to achieving. She describes the next events as a "trickle-down effect."

It started when Dave Dessauer, then a career coach in the College of Business, offered her an unpaid internship. That internship gave her the confidence to join the Govs Programming Council, or GPC, where she handled marketing.

She was also accepted into the Larry W. Carroll Govs Fund, a student-managed investment group, which opened new doors and inspired her to add finance as a minor.

“I didn't know I had an interest in finance and numbers until I got into Govs Fund,” she said. “It was like a whole new world."

Dominguez became the Govs Fund's communications director. In that role, she "revitalized" the organization's social media presence, according to her mentor, Stephanie Bilderback, an instructor in the College of Business. Bilderback described Dominguez's work ethic as "unmatched."

That work ethic became her trademark. Dominguez balances her RA duties and Govs Fund leadership with three internships at the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, Mark Transportation and Blush Business Consulting, owned by Bilderback.

Dominguez’s academic work accelerated. She presented research at three national conferences — on AI in Florida, sustainability in New York and the Govs Fund’s investment portfolio in Chicago.

"Austin Peay gave a lot of opportunity to the people that tried," she said. "They see somebody that wants to try, and they don't shut them down. They just push you forward instead."

In a modern classroom or business setting, a woman in a dark blazer stands at the front, smiling and gesturing toward a large digital screen. The screen displays a financial line graph, similar to a stock chart. To her left, a man in a gray suit jacket also looks at the screen. In the foreground, the backs of several students or attendees are visible as they sit at tables, focusing on the presentation. A computer monitor in the lower-left corner shows a Bloomberg terminal interface.

Dominguez presenting about the Larry W. Carroll Gov Fund.

The ‘Why’ and the Future

Behind the 3.5 GPA and accomplishments is her primary motivation: her 12-year-old brother, Brandon.

"My family and my little brother have been my motor, been my why," Dominguez said.

Her journey is a conscious effort to be a "leading example for him," as she is determined to build a new path.

She brings him to campus for university sporting events and discusses her classes with him, creating the path she never had.

Brandon, now 12, describes his sister as "nice, talkative, and smart." He admires her for studying business and is proud that many people on campus know her.

Her best advice: "Never give up."

Brandon's future plan shows her influence. He wants to join the U.S. Navy for a few years, "and then go to college." For him, college is no longer an abstract idea; it is the path his sister is carving right in front of him.

Dominguez's journey was supported by mentors. Dessauer, now director of the TSBDC, "knew me before," she said, offering her that first internship. Bilderback, the instructor and entrepreneur, is Dominguez's "academic mother," who taught her “the simple ropes” and foundational skills that shaped her journey.

"Cici has never waited for opportunity; she’s created it," Bilderback said. "She has evolved from a curious freshman into a confident scholar and leader."

As Dominguez approaches her May 2026 graduation, she’s networking for her next move, possibly an internship with Govs Fund benefactor Larry Carroll in North Carolina. She’s guided by a philosophy from that first difficult year.

"I’m most proud of being OK with being a beginner," she said. "Being OK with not being the best at something the first time and building up to it."

This philosophy of being a continuous learner has informed her actions. She now mentors younger students in the Govs Fund, showing them the simple ropes she once had to learn herself.

This is a medium, chest-up portrait of a young woman smiling warmly at the camera. She has long, dark brown hair with lighter highlights, styled in waves. She is wearing a black blazer over a black top and a simple silver necklace. The background is blurred but appears to be an indoor office or lab setting.
Dominguez

Get To Know Cici

 

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