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Essay about first generation college students
Hard about being a first generation student
Essay about first generation college students
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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.
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.
Success can be defined as achieving multiple goals in your life, whether that’d be passing a final, making the dance team, losing weight, etc. You either achieve these goals, or eventually undergo a wild goose chase. Life is truly a journey in which you discover unknown traits about yourself. But can you become successful without prior knowledge of the world around. How drastic can the support from your parents or any help from others benefit your future and chances of being successful? In the book, The Outliers, Chapter 4 The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 2, Malcolm Gladwell addresses to the reader his claims on success and that the community you are exposed to is key. “It takes a country to raise a community.”- Clint Davis, meaning the child’s,
Prompt: In 500 words or more, describe your collegiate experience thus far. How has this experience and the knowledge you've gained influenced what you plan to study? How have they influenced your decision to apply to St. Edward's?
They tied education to success and my dad always voiced that he desired better for me than he had for himself, even though he became quite successful despite not having a high school diploma. Consequently, it was quite natural for me to pursue college after high school, as that was the subject of numerous discussions in my household.
Growing up in my neighborhood was not hard or challenging at all, just because I live in an outer city area in NC which is more of a country setting where it was nothing but small businesses and fields. I am thankful to say I was blessed with great parents who raised me up in the church and both has great jobs and would have no problem getting whatever my siblings and I needed or wanted to have. My mom graduated college twice with both degrees from Southeastern Community College she was an LPN until I was around the age of twelve and then she went back for another degree and became an RN to get a better job and she currently is Unit Manager at Poplar Heights Nursing Center. For dad he did not attend college he did truck driving until I was around the age of five and then he owned his own construction job called, “Simple Fix”. He continued doing that for about four years and it was successful until workers started relocated so he stopped that job and now he currently is the supervisor over nuclear construction at Duke Power
Being a first generation college student has been my biggest struggle in life. For years, I was told to attend Allen Community College before any big changes of course I didn’t listen. For years I was told I wouldn’t last in a big university, I have been told I will be unprepared and behind. I have been told that three out of five first generations students do not complete a degree. Being told something isn’t possible is a hard thing to deal with.
I was raised in an encouraging household where both of my parents greatly valued education. Although they were high school graduates, neither could afford to attend college; a combination of family and financial woes ultimately halted their path. As a result, my parents frequently reminded me that getting a good education meant better opportunities for my future. To my parents, that seemed to be the overarching goal: a better life for me than the one they had. My parents wanted me to excel and supported me financially and emotionally of which the former was something their parents were not able to provide. Their desire to facilitate a change in my destiny is one of many essential events that contributed to my world view.
When I was born, my family had just migrated to California from Mexico. In a new country, my father worked in landscaping earning less than $4 dollars an hour, while my mother relied on public transportation to take her newborn child to and from doctor visits. In the land of opportunity, my family struggled to put a roof over our heads. But never discouraged, my parents sought to achieve their goals and worked tirelessly to raise my younger brother and I. From a young age, I was taught the importance of education; this became a major catalyst in my life. My desire to excel academically was not for self-gain, but my way of contributing to my family’s goals and aspirations.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be lonely and slower than everyone else. Well Slower Than The Rest by Cynthia Rylant answers that question. The main character Leo is lonely and has no friends. Slower Than The Rest is about a boy named Leo who find a turtle on the highway and takes it in as a pet. Leo had no friends until Charlie his turtle came and acted like a best friend. Leo brought Charlie into school and talked about charlie and forest fires. At the end of the story Leo got an award plaque for best presentation and for once felt fast. Leo was lonely because he didn't have any friends.
The stereotypical version of the normal life of a teenager proceeding to college would include high academic standards met throughout their high school career and outstanding outside testing scores resulting in automatic entry into the institution of their choice. Many of these individuals have the support of their accomplished family members in the form of financial support. There are those who have not had the luxuries of any easy upbringing but forced to decide between a life with a college degree or full-time employment. For myself I want to have it all and to achieve that I have taken on both.
As a first generation college student, we tend to be in need of financial assistance in order to attend college. Scholarships and financial aid would be of great assistance in supporting my goal for higher education, I noticed the only way out of poverty from a single family with low income is to pursuing higher education and obtain a skilled job. Although my father has made many sacrifices to allow me to focus on education throughout high school, but college is just a new level of challenge on financial need ever since my grandma were diagnosed with cancer. She is a strong old lady that never give up fight cancer throughout the past five years, and she taught me never give
I think that my family has positively affected my life through treating me like Im a person, something that gets hurt easily. Does education really affect the way I am? Maybe not directly, but indirectly. The symposia of the symposia. Education is a means of teaching some values, but thats not educations main purpose.
The experiences you go through in life have a larger affect on who you will grow up to be more than you realize. I have always had a passion for traveling and exploring new places, which was influenced a great deal with how much I traveled as a child, and how much time I spent on the water. I also grew up to be more independent than others in my family. People judged me rather quickly when I was a child because of my family name being well known in Charleston. They all assumed I was a spoiled, egotistic child who believed I thought I was better than them.
...new classes, I soon realized what would be the biggest challenge of college: deciding on a major. Yes, I am one of those people who started college without first declaring a major. I soon heard every question, suggestion, and response regarding possible options. I even began concocting false majors to throw some people off. Large-Scale Demolition was a crowd favorite.
My parents raised me to be independent, which I can say that I am. I learned that I cannot always rely on other people and that I need to do things for myself, I control my own destiny. If I needed or wanted something done, then I would have to do it myself. I got a job in order to take my financial independence from my parents, one step further. At the same time, I was learning responsibility.