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Essays on first generation college students
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In June of 2018, Jasmin Sierra became the first in her family to graduate high school on time, and the following autumn becomes the first in her family to take the route of graduating college. Coming from parents who couldn’t receive an education like her, she took the responsibility to provide her family a better life. She saw her parents struggle every day to provide for her family, and I wanted to change that. She wanted to help them financially and set an example for her younger siblings. Her family is very important to her because they are her support and without them, she would not be where she is today. However, being a first-generation college student had its struggles and perks of its own. She struggled as she had to learn how to figure out thing by herself. She was not able to get help from her family and learned how to speak up and ask questions. She had to figure college out all by herself. They were times where she became stress and felt pressure. There were many times where she felt like giving up but always …show more content…
Now she can give back to her family. She was fortunate enough to receive a college education and earn a Master’s degree in psychology from University of Houston- Downtown. She also decided to major in International Business and could do so with the help of an HSF scholarship. Better off now, she provides back to her community by providing therapy to those without resources. She has partnered up with many nonprofit organizations and advocates for the awareness of mental illnesses in countries who don’t support it. Advocates to support and increase many countries to improve access to mental health treatment, care for depression, substance abuse, and many other mental illnesses. She also advocates awareness of the rising suicide rates in many parts of the world. She wants to be a supporting hand just like those who supported her throughout her
Success in high school requires years of hard work and dedication to excellence. During her four years at Holy Trinity, Yasmeen Ettrick has proved herself to be a successful, and dedicated member of the Holy Trinity community. Yasmeen Ettrick
During her teen years, she was abused and lonely. She gave birth to her first child when she was only sixteen years old. She was in her first marriage when she was only nineteen years old. After three children, two marriages, and a breakdown, she realizes that there is a lot more to life than her current circumstances.
In Jennie Capo Crucet 's essay, “Taking My Parents To College,” Crucet describes her own experience as a freshman college student who was faced with many challenges that were unknown to her, as well as the cluelessness of what the beginning of her freshman year would look like. I felt like the biggest impression Crucet left on me while I was reading her essay, was the fact that I can relate to her idea of the unknown of college life. Throughout her essay, she described her personal experiences, and the factors one might face as a freshman college student which involved the unknown and/or uncertainty of what this new chapter would bring starting freshman year of college. Crucet’s essay relates to what most of us
“First-generation,” a term that has recently began to permeate through our discourse surrounding education. Yet, secondary education institutions have found difficulty settling on a definition that fully captures the distinct and incomparable experiences and backgrounds of students. The definitions of a first-generation college student varies from institution to institution; ranging from having no parental figures who ever attended postsecondary education, to having one or more members in the immediate family who did not obtain a bachelor degree.
In 2007, the oldest college student graduated at the age of 95 years old, with a Bachelor’s degree in general studies. Many Americans of all ages attend college, from recent high-school graduates to older adults, whom are considered to be non-traditional students. Some of these students did not receive a four year high-school degree, but did receive a GED; some have a husband or wife and kids at home, or can be a single parent, and they have a full time job while attending school. Non-traditional students have to sacrifice a great deal to achieve their goals. In Anzia Yezierkha’s essay, “Soap and Water,” she describes the terrible situations she has to go through as a Russian immigrant, working full time in a hot steamy laundry mat, while trying to obtain her college degree as a teacher. In “Soap and Water,” she recounts her difficult four years in college much the same as a non-traditional student may encounter, the struggles she had with Professors and students, while working fulltime such as a non-traditional student at any college today; with all the personal pain and working so hard, to finally achieving of her dream also known as the “American Dream.”
Then her parents decided that they should get her into counselling and go to the doctor and take a depression form. And it turns out that she
When coming to college your whole money situation changes, suddenly you're bombarded with housing costs and student loans that you have to pay back or you will spiral into debt. Your whole life changes you don't have your parents paying for your voluptuous wants and needs, you’re on your own. The move from high school understudy to college undergrad is a standout amongst the most upsetting and essential times in an adolescent's life. Not only is your day to day life going to change but your spending habits have to change. The school years are a period where a high school student leaves their support team behind,
Many factors influenced the fact that I am now attending Louisiana Tech University. Some Micro-sociological forces were present in my decision to come here. My parents who both attended college, were a critical force in my attendance at Louisiana Tech University this fall. My dad obtained an Associate’s degree in business and my mom has a certification in medical coding and 60 hours in college credit. We are a middle-class family so my parents had the ability to help me pay half of the cost of college expenditures that were left. As an alumnus himself, my father’s input helped me in making my decision to attend Louisiana tech by sharing his experience of college life with me. My older sister Marissa decided to attend Tech when she graduated
Gail O. Mellow is the president of LaGuardia Community College. In her article, The Biggest Misconceptions about Today’s College Students, she argues that there are misguided judgments present about the ‘typical’ college undergraduate. Mellow, writes this to inform the reader about the challenges college students, mainly ones at a junior college, have maintaining structure between their personal and academic lives. She adopts a firm, formal, and assertive tone for different groups of people; likely, financial trustees that could also be her fellow colleagues, any member of a staff of a higher learning institution in general, and even general taxpayers. She supports her claims about financial and academic obstacles students have by further explaining
Growing up in a Hispanic community, I realized that many of my friends believed college was not for them. It was not until my first year at Oregon State University when I joined Adelante, a one-term program aimed at empowering the Latino community, that I was able to fully grasp the significance of this belief. Recognizing this issue, I understood that I had a responsibility to act and encourage other families, in particular Hispanic families, to think about postsecondary education. I became the co-president of Adelante and together we grew it into an official Student Sponsored Organization. Adelante continues to provide the same program I went through, but now along with another organization named Juntos, brings awareness and information on
In the 21st century, if an individual decides to make a major commitment or resolution, they have the utmost support from their peers and family members. However, when a first-generation college student decides on furthering their education, the dearest people close to the student seem to disappear. Linda Banks-Santilli (2015) claims that first-generation students apply to a single college and without the help of a parent (para. 13). Although Banks-Santilli does not say so directly, she assumes that the students can not afford multiple application fees and the students are unsure on how to determine which college is a good fit, as their parents have not taken them on a college tour. I agree that first-generation students have far less help
A first generation student expresses frustrations about connecting to campus life: “We all want to be a part of the university. I just don’t know how…”, and another student helps finish by adding, “…how to act. I am proud of my roots. But who I am doesn’t fit in with who these other people are” (Lowery-Hart and Pacheco 62). First generation college students can be defined differently by many organizations, but they basically are the first in their respective families to attend and/ or complete a four year college or university to obtain a bachelor’s degree (Soria and Stebleton 7). Students face many obstacles on the road to college, and can experience even more difficulty once
This study has been done to see if parental support distinguishes the education of first generation students in compared to non-first generation students. “Greater numbers of students from non-college educated families are realizing that in order to gain equal footing with their peers, a college degree is a must” . As the number of first generation students in the college environment begin to increase, so due the worries of their educational aspirations and achievements within this new atmosphere. This article also states that, “current research suggests that first- generation students differ in significant ways from their non-first-generation peers in areas including academic preparation, racial/ethnic demographics, socioeconomic status
Thus, my family structure was officially part of the low-socioeconomic status throughout my childhood and adolescence. Subsequently, many of the obstacles I personally endured were explained by the theories we covered in this course. Remarkably, I have been able to overcome these challenges and I am about to graduate with two undergraduate degrees and summa cum laude honors. Albeit, I am an older student and it took me twenty years to achieve this opportunity to fully dedicate myself to academics. I am extremely proud of my accomplishments thus far, especially my acceptance to ASU Law, my membership in Phi Kappa Phi, and my perfect GPA. Indeed, my journey has been long, with several starts/stops in between. And yet, the kindness of my scholarship donors, coupled with my perseverance and dedication to academics, has brought me to the last leg of this phenomenal quest for
It is often said that education should come before anything else. “Education is the most important factor in the development of the country” (“Education”). However, this is not always true in terms of the success of one’s collegiate career. Education is not every student’s top priority, and there are many ways to live successfully after college without focusing on the academic part as your top priority. Only about 30 percent of Americans complete a bachelor’s degree by their mid-20s, with another 10 percent completing an associate’s degree by then (Paulson). Not everyone’s top priority is academics, with many alternatives and goals to pursue, many people drop-out or simply stop trying and eventually flunk out. H...