Personal Narrative: My Experience As An African American Student

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My early educational experience made me feel alienated and discouraged. In addition to the relentless news reports of the statistical inferiority of African American students in comparison to Caucasian students, public schools I attended were meager in racial diversity. While it is normal for a person to be proficient in some areas and deficient in others, as one of the few African Americans in my class, I felt representative of my entire race. Moreover, I was not athletic or coordinated enough for the positive stereotypes, and my grades were not high enough to refute the negative stereotypes. Every C and D served as a harrowing reminder that I was a disgrace to all the people who fought and died for my right to an education. Micro-aggressions occurred daily ranging from jokes about why black kids …show more content…

I decided to take the test, and I scored the second highest in my group. I wanted to go to college, but I felt I had been out of school too long and needed to ease into the process with a community college. I planned to major in psychology and minor in creative writing. I attended New River Community and Technical College for two years. I had two immensely supportive professors during my time there Karen Carter-Harvey (Psychology) and Scott McClanahan (English). I enjoyed the experience, but I decided to move on to pursue my goals since New River did not offer a psychology degree. I transferred to Marshall University, but my experience is limited. Most my classes have been online. I am still working full time, and I am commuting two hours to campus. I am currently not able to afford student housing due to Marshall’s insufficient financial aid package. I am seeking an opportunity to become fully immersed academically as well as socially in a diverse

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