Pathway To College

For me being the first generation in my family to attend college is a great honor. The reason I say that is because of the struggle my parents had to endure, in order for them and me to have a better life.My father finish middle school but my mother on the other hand never set foot in a school. She never learned how to read fluently or even write. My mother's unfortunate childhood made me value education even more. As a first generation college student you get to open new doors.I truly Believing that education is the key to becoming a better person and also student. Being able to be successful in college and also graduating from a nursing program will give me the satisfaction to say that my parents struggles didn't go unnoticed. Having

I am a first-generation college student. My parents never got passed high school. They were both faced with hardship and had no choice but to get a job to deal with the responsibilities of home. My dad left India at the age of 16 to build a better life for himself and my mom in America. In my household, education has always been a priority. Since my parents have felt firsthand how life is like without a degree, they made it their mission to ingrain in us a value for education like no other. However, there have been many situations in which I have found myself lost and looking for answers about college. Sadly, by being a first-generation student, my parents could not help me. Not only could they not help me, but being the first to attend college

also be the only person in my family to attend college, none of my siblings or parents attended

In 1947, The President’s Commission Report stated that higher education is to provide “Equal educational opportunities for all persons, to the maximum of their individual abilities and without regard to [socio]economic status, race, creed, color, sex, national origin or ancestry, [which] is [the] major goal of American democracy” (United States & Zook, 1947, p. 3). Thus, the purpose of this essay is to analyze the path for underserved students transitioning from community college to a 4-year university, while reconceptualizing the American Dream. Through a critical race theoretical lends, this essay will outline the historical trend and statistical facts on student transfer rates from community college, emphasize the importance of creating a transfer receptive culture and incorporate the urgency to reevaluate the inequalities in equity for underserved students in higher education.

My biggest personal achievement I am most proud of would be getting selected for my district's Middle School Pathways Program. It is a program in which 7th graders are taught the 7th and 8th grade Math curriculum in one school year, essentially preparing them to take Algebra 1 in 8th grade. As a B grade student in the 5th grade the requirements of the program; a 6th grade math teacher recommendation, a Math grade of A, on all trimester report cards, and a score in the top 10% on the end of year 6th grade district benchmark assessment, the idea of being selected seemed a little close to nearly-impossible. Even though the chances seemed little to none I set a goal to be accepted and I was able to follow through with it. The reason as to why

Communicating with my peers has been a hefty struggle with me for years. For me to speak with one partner let alone a whole class was challenging enough. Through elementary, I used to speak in quiet stutters that required an ear full to get a word.

Since I came to college I decided that it was time for me to break that habit because it could really hinder my personal and professional growth. I pushed my self out of my comfort zone and began networking and simply talking to people as well as taking a speech class to help me be more comfortable speaking in front of others. Now I am proud to say I

Time management is a skill I have learned, and it is one of the reason for successfully completing my community college journey. I have always attended college full- time, worked full- time, additionally I am also an active member of Phi Theta Kappa honor society, among other extracurricular activities. Similarly, when I get enrolled into nursing school, I will bring what I have learned during my community college journey. Though flexibility is allowed, I will create a schedule and stick to it. Just like I usually do, I will set a semester goal, and work towards meeting that goal. On the other hand, I do not think working full-time will be advisable while in nursing school. Instead, I will look for a per- time job on campus or close to the

In the June 8th, 2011 article How At-Risk Students Make It to College, published in the Hispanic Times Magazine, the un-named author is explaining how there are several factors that can have a positive influence on any student, and most importantly, on an at risk students, to make the decision about going to a four-year college. The author is showing us the most important influencing factors such as family and peers. The author also tells us what an at risk-student is. The author is also telling us that within the key factors, there are some underlining factors that can influence us in ways we don’t think about. For example, the one step that we don’t really think about is the college application process, which is one of the factors we don’t think about until we have to go through the process ourself, when we decide to go to a four-year college.

Being the daughter of immigrant parents, I will be the first individual in my family to attend college.Throughout

Overall, I learned that getting into college is extremely difficult. People just can't go into high school and not care because it is crucial that a person does well. Right now I am doing extremely well in my academics. I learned that I have to get a plethora of scholarships, and also maintain my high academic standard. Getting a job early is key, which I'm the team manager for the College of Charleston women's basketball team, so I have a little bit of coaching experience. Tulane University will help achieve my goals of becoming a women's basketball head or assistant coach because I will be learning from the best coaches in the country. The business program will also teach me commutation skills and leadership skills, which are vital if I want

My family can afford to give my two siblings and me an in-state, post-secondary education, giving me a head start in my career.

As English is my second language, I am not fluent in English language. When I attended my first class, I was a very afraid and nervous to talk with my professors and classmates. At that time, I decided to improve my communication skills. My classmates and professors are very helpful by nature. I told them about my fear and they agreed to support me. They correct me while I am speaking wrong English and explain me how to get good score in assignments. Furthermore, Professor gave us some different types of the assignment like to go service fair and to found out the answer of few questions. I went there and I talked with people at service fair and I got my answers. These kinds of assignments always gave me opportunity to improve my communication skills. Now, I have a confidence to talk with the people without any

Encouraged by my English teacher, one of the few teachers to ever talk to me about furthering my education, I decided to apply to college during the fall of my senior year. I was reluctant to apply at first because I was never able to envision myself being able to pursue a college education, as a high school diploma was the highest educational level any of my family members ever obtained. Throughout my entire life and time in school, I had never received any guidance on pursuing higher education. In fact, I was completely unaware of the steps I needed to take to further my education. Both my parents dropped out of school before the sixth grade, thus they could not provide any

Strategic planning is an essential step, and a required step by academic accrediting agencies, in the development of a results-based accountability system for educational institutions. It is a disciplined effort to produce decisions and actions that shape and guide an educational institution in what it does, and why it does it. To that end, Pathways College strategic plan is defined as the process of addressing the following questions: