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I am only the fourth person of many generations of the Green-Belt family to graduate from an institution of higher learning. The other three? My siblings. My mother was the first to attend college, she attended Johnson C. Smith University on a full swimming and diving scholarship. But, did not graduate because the program was cut, and growing up poor there was no money for her to finish school. I followed her foot steps, becoming a student athlete. Athletics paved the way for me. Giving me the opportunity to travel, meet people, and gave me the opportunity to receive my education at an Honors College. The more I grew as a student the better I grew as a leader for my team. I was able to leave behind the negatives that came with growing up in
High School is an important part in a child’s life. It becomes the foundation to the start of their future usually following with college. Applying for college is a huge step. Deciding where to go, what to do, or even to attend at all goes through everyone’s head at a point of time in their life. However, the difference is how each and every individual attending college started. Some were gifted enough to be given an academic scholarship based on their intelligence level. While as the students who excel in athletics not only get scholarships, but they also receive other benefits as well. College athletes are given privileges that your average college student do not even have access to or even the ones with high intelligence.
My father, Tom, was the eldest brother and was the first to attend college. He had been an alter boy in high school and a football player. When it came time for him to attend college he chose Millersville University . There he played football and was well known as a student who knew how to throw a party. Two years into his college career he decided to go into the navy. After serving his time there he went back to Millersville only to drop out near the beginning of his senior year because he found college to be “boring”. To my father there is nothing worse than being bored. His biggest accomplishment in college, as far as he saw it, was when trying to write an original poem in a certain style on one of his English finals, he wrote a limerick instead which went as follows:
The documentary, First Generation, follows four first generation college students who try and balance the hardships of working, sports, being part of a lower socioeconomic status and handling the challenges of learning how to apply and cover the cost of hefty college tuitions. In this paper, I will discuss barriers that some students experienced, the benefits of attainting a college education as a first generation student and some of the challenges individuals faced once they were accepted into college.
How does being the first in one’s family to graduate from college impact one’s desire to finish college? Some of the major barriers first generation college students face include lack of motivation, lack of support, and low income finances. Some freshman students might lack the motivation to do well in school because of the lack of appropriate role models or mentors in the academic environment. These difficulties can be tied to lack of support at home; the parents might not be concerned about their child's education, maybe the parent lacks the ability to guide them through college, the parent might not have the process of having not navigated it themselves. Parents might feel embarrassed that they don’t have any knowledge to help them through college.
Society today puts priority on a college degree, yet those who end up going to college are not always tended to. Of the entire undergraduate population in the United States, only 24 percent are first generation college students. From that group of students, only 11 percent earn a Bachelor’s degree after six years (Tugend). Often times first generation students are unaware of anything about college. This lack of knowledge leads to them not taking full advantage of all the resources available to them (Parks). Neither one of my parents went to college, so it was as much a learning process for them as it was for me. As a first generation student I believe that it is necessary for there to be some group of people that just devotes their time and attention to helping everyone take full advantage of everything they are being offered.
I was raised by different parents than my older siblings. They weren’t different parents biologically, they were different parents economically. For years they struggled to get by with very little education. But once their children were all in school, they decided to make a change. A few years before I was born, my parents earned their college degrees. What this meant for me was a world of security, provision, and opportunity that far surpassed that of my brother and sisters. My story is very similar to that of Angela Whitiker, a former single mother who effectively pulled herself and her family out of poverty by achieving her nursing degree. Her movement from the projects to the middle class is a feat to be admired. But what gave her such upward mobility? And why is it that in our society so many seem to lack it?
At an extremely young age, my mother fostered the idea of attaining a college education for my brothers and I. As an adolescent, I assumed that a college education was necessary, but little did I know that my mother 's words and actions served as the familial capital that would lead to my acceptance into the University of California, Los Angeles. With the exposure to vital information, such as Community Cultural Wealth and the Hidden Curriculum, many students of color, such as myself, have the ability to attain academic achievement and successfully navigate through institutionalized forms of oppression. Community Cultural Wealth is the idea that Communities of Color possess a substantial amount of knowledge, skills, contacts, and abilities
College life is a journey taken by many high school graduate in effort to explore a higher form of education, and most importantly build a new life outside the boundaries of their families to sustain a long path of toward successful career and to some, building a new family of their own. In the United State we are blessed with an education system that is never available worldwide. Laws are placed to allow every students regardless of ethnicity, gender or class a chance to pursue education in among the most prestigious universities in the world such as Ivy League school as well as many large public universities with many programs. This vast number of education institutions available of every type of students create this big diversity leading the U.S. to be the frontrunner of education in the world.
Take note of Molly, an African-American woman from an upper-class and politically involved Texan family. She earned an undergraduate degree in Anthropology with a minor in US Civics from Yale University. After she graduated, Molly volunteered for two years in the Peace Corps before taking a year to explore Europe. Also up for consideration is Cameron, a third generation Irish-American from a working class Pennsylvanian family. After high school he spent a year working with his father in a steel mill before deciding to go to university. He then received a scholarship to Princeton, eventually graduating with a degree in US History. Cameron was elected Student Body President in his final year of school and established a union for the teaching assistants.
Sports play a very important role in my life ever since I could walk. My interests in playing sports began at the age of three as my parents signed me up for soccer, flag football, basketball, and lacrosse. First grade started my competitive edge as I began to play for travel teams in various sport tournaments. This competitive edge transferred from the sports field to the classroom having teachers and coaches helping me be the best I can be. Sports have continually well-shaped and defined my character by teaching me how to accept a win from working hard, also how a loss is an opportunity to learn and fix mistakes.
First in the Family: A First Generation College Student. Across universities throughout the United States, the presence of first-generation college students is on the rise (Stephens 1). Students whose parents do not have a degree in higher education, are being given the opportunity to shape their future for the better as they embark on a journey to receiving a four year degree unlike their parents who were not given such an opportunity. With the number of first-generation college students on the rise from the past, I became interested in seeing how the views, relationships, and ideas of these students were unique, and how they differed from the average student attending a university; an average student coming from at least a middle class background who has at least one parent with a degree in higher education.
“If at first you don’t succeed try , try again.” At the age of six I was starting to play football. The game was a hard hitting running and commitment. I was six years old at the time now I’m fourteen a freshman in high school a lot has changed.
Being in Upward Bound has been my greatest privilege and source of motivation. I was one of lucky 12 who was selected from my class and since we spent three summers together, we have created a powerful bond with each other. Ms. Norma, the director, has helped me grow tremendously throughout these years and she has been one of my greatest role models. During my summers in LMU, my UB peers and I were put in positions where we had to work together to solve many problems. Activities like these helped me become better at working alongside others and take the lead when needed. This mental training influenced me to become active in school by joining clubs and taking leadership positions. I learned a lot about myself by being participating in these
Growing up I always felt aloof from my peers because in comparison to them, I knew nothing about college and they had the idea of attending college marked on their head. As time went on certain factors influenced me to attend a 4 year institution and these factors were both internal and external. Aside from having factors influence my decision to attend a university, there were barriers that I had to surpass in order to fully enroll in what is UCLA.
Being a first generation college student and working with my mother majority of the days that I was not in school to allow me to have the opportunity for an American dream from a very young age only positively impacted me. It made me realize that no one is born a genius, but everyone has the potential for it and that is determined by what work you do with the potential. My circumstance has only stimulated me to be successful and challenge myself everyday to reach my full potential-then some.