Low Income Student Essay

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Being a first generation low-income student has had a huge impact on my education. It has presented as an asset and a challenge at UCI. Both my parents are first generation Americans with my father being born in Mexico and my mother born in Honduras. My father only has a third grade education and my mother has a sixth grade education. My parents don’t know English so it limited the amount of job opportunities they received in the United States. These conditions had my family and I grow up very low-income. My parents could rarely help my sisters and I with school since they have little knowledge about the education system here in the United States. My parents had no knowledge about receiving a higher education, which made my process of going to and attending college very difficult. My first year at UCI was a tough transition. I had little to no guidance and came into college not knowing what to expect. Unfortunately, this reflected in my grades. My GPA resulted at a 1.2 and I was on Academic Disqualification after my first quarter at UCI. I …show more content…

My experience as a first generation low-income student is what fuels my motivation to succeed. My struggles are the reasons I’m so driven in my education. I strongly believe that receiving a higher education is the only way to improve my life. I work hard every day to make ensure I’m successfully building a foundation for my future. Through my challenges, I’ve found my passion to help students strive personally, professionally, and academically at UCI. I‘m determined to become a foundation for students who come from similar backgrounds because I understand the obstacles that might arise and I can relay the wisdom and knowledge I have attained so I can help the individual. My choice of majors, the extracurricular activities I’m involve in, and anything I do reflects my passion of helping students strive at

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