Personal Narrative: Becoming A First Generation College

I have defiantly not had a normal or a comfortable life. I have lived in RVs and cars on the streets of NE Portland, been homeless twice and I have left the country on multiple occasions cause of my family financial situation. As recent as two years ago I was in Central America and Southern Mexico looking for a safe and decent place to survive in. I missed a year of school. Currently, I live in a leaky, moldy, single-wide trailer home in Rockwood Neighborhood in Gresham. My parents are divorced; my dad, who I live with, is unemployed, has health issues, and has no formal education. So I provide for him and myself.

Growing up as a first-generation college-bound Hispanic woman has proven to be a difficult journey. Both of my parents left their home countries at a young age and came to this country without any ideas or real opportunities on where to begin. At a young age, I have been taught that having a higher education is the key to having a successful and plentiful life. However, the journey towards achieving my dream of receiving a higher education has been filled with moments where I have challenged the stereotypes about getting pregnant and dropping out of high school, facing my grandma’s unexpected illness that affected me both academically and mentally, and the challenge of being a first generation college bound student in my family.

Coming into the University I didn’t know what to expect, especially with taking 16 hours, and Comp being one of them. Being a first generation college student, has been rough especially since my older sister exceeded my parents expectations. I believe I am capable of succeeding in anything I set my mind to. I have always struggled with English/Writing since English is my second language. Many people tend to get surprised when I tell them I learned English at the age of 4, since they believed English would be my first language since I was born in the United States. Long story short, English is my second language because I was raised by my grandparents, since my parents always dedicated their time to work to provide us with a better future.

Serving others by utilizing the lessons I have learned through my experiences and my talents is how I want to live my life. As a first generation college student, I want to integrate myself in programs or start my own mentorship program where I am able to mentor and give back to students who are first generation college students as well. I feel it’s important to reach out to first generation college students because the amount of pressure we receive with little to no guidance can be discouraging and lead us to feel alone in this process.

they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please

1. What experience do you like talking about the most? What has been the most interesting, intriguing, and exciting part of your life- why, and what did you learn from it?

Looking back at my life to where I am now. I can honestly admit if I did not come to Community College my life would have been different. Here at community college I have made the most out of my experience I not only saved a significant amount of money but, furthermore I have grown not only with myself but with my grades as well. I struggled with a numerous of things in high school. However here at college I actually took the time to listen and observe. I have made friends and individuals that I can honestly call my family. I have taken the initiative to progress in my chosen fields.

I am a first generation college attendee at Hendrix College. I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 28, 1998. I lived with my great-grandmother for seven years eating soul food like pig’s feet, rabbit, and other wild gain. Shortly after moving in with my mother, Hurricane Katrina hit landfall. Katrina completely uprooted her new life. At seven, I witnessed people without homes, clothes, and food. For a short period of time I was even one of them. This experience altered my perception about life; I am blessed to have a home, clothes, food and education. My high school years were the best years of my life. High school was a place where my unfiltered self was celebrated instead of criticized. In high school, I realized my passion was working

Throughout High School I thought I was proficient in reading and writing in my English classes, from freshman year to senior year English classes were easy and felt I could transition my confidence to community college after graduation until I took the English assessment exam and failed in the spring of 2012. Failing my entrance exam was devastating and I refused to accept my results, I waited two academic year before I can appeal to retest my English entrance exam and after weeks of waiting I was approved to retest. After I retest the results were the same, I was placed in remedial English not only was I devastated again but I personally felt worthless. I did not know what was wrong with my reading and writing but I had no choice to enroll

Being a non-traditional college student is hard for anyone, for someone who gets anxious easily it can be even harder. I remember my first day of college, I had spent the previous week sick and could barely talk because I still had a lingering cough. Pacing back and forth at home, I contemplated if it was too late to back out and quit school before I had even started. I changed my clothes several times and thought about giving up so much that I was nearly late to my first class. Additionally, in all the excitement I only took the time to know when my classes started and not where they were actually held. I had no idea why I was even here.

Entering community college with little programming experience, I was eager to learn. I registered for my first programming class excited, with a fresh mind. My professor introduced the class to our first program, "Hello World." Instantly, I was hooked. As I uncovered the complexities of problem-solving and the importance of proper syntax, my love grew stronger. Eventually, with experience in C++ and JAVA, another professor presented a life changing opportunity to me.

After recently graduating from Fullerton College with two associate degrees in psychology, I could have not accomplished this goal all by myself without the proper guidance that I received from EOPS and FYSI at the time. These programs were established to support former foster youth at Fullerton College in their education as long as they met all the conditions for each semester. As a result, this was valuable for me during my time as a community college student, allowing me to guarantee that I would finish all my requirements on time to transfer to a good university, and becoming more involved with the campus each semester. That being said, this is one of the main reasons as to why I am applying to your program, so I could receive the support

During my first year as a college student, I was introduced to First Generation Student Association. FGSA was a student organization aiming to make the transition to college smoother for all first generation students. At first, I was a member however, September of my sophomore year I was voted in as President. As president I planned workshops such as FSFA renewal, study abroad information sessions and socials. During my junior year, as treasurer I applied for funding, and worked with the executive team and advisers to plan the budget for the school year. The experience gained through this organization has allowed me to understand what the needs are for first generation students as well as students who need assistance in navigating the complicated

This community college is where I began my educational expedition. It provided the fundamentals and course work I needed to grasp the concept of education. The school program much more than on campus and off campus enrichments, they offered my first online courses that open my mind to new possibilities to learn. The elated and engaged program brought to light a magnificent way of learning. It was astonishing to be able to take classes at home in addition to school. Furthermore, the completion of the program successfully aided as I continued to a university with the skills and knowledge to be successful through hard work and determination.

After graduating high school I began taking classes at Austin Community College. Focusing more on my business and marketing classes, working as a manager at Ashley Furniture Homestore this allowed me to use what I was learning in the classroom and incorporate these skills into the work environment. Over my time at Austin Community College, the classes were becoming harder to fill many of my classes were dropped or the Dean of marketing substituting many of my courses for other courses. I became Frustrated with this process and decided to finish my certification in marketing and return to college at a later time. Following graduating Austin Community College I became sick and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. This diagnosis had an enormous