Personal Narrative: My Legacy As A First Time College Student

Alfreda was a first generation college student. She had a difficult academic experience being one of only four African American students majoring in animal science. She used her social life to help her cope with the experience. Alfreda mentioned Zinck 's night which is a campus tradition named after a bar keeper in Ithaca that owned a bar that was a haven for college students. Alfreda found no interest in this event, however, she did participate in Slope day because it was an opportunity for her and her friends to celebrate the last day of school. Instead of participating in the university-wide homecoming, she mentions a separate homecoming sponsored by a Black fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha and the Festival of Black Gospel. She states:

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.

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.

My College and Career goals include graduating college and getting a job. I wish to attend the University of Alabama. I plan to major in occupational therapy or speech therapy. After I graduate with my bachelor's degree I wish to get my master's degree. After I finish my schooling I want to receive a job that allows me to provide for my family. I wish to receive this job in my degree's field. After receiving this job I wish to improve to reach a leadership role.

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.

To earn a degree from a prestigious institution like the University of Texas at Austin has never been realistic goal for me. Becoming a first generation college student has had many challenges that I have overcame. Being from Austin I have always been a longhorn at heart, but was told by my peers that I was destined to follow in the footsteps of my parents, living on the poverty line when I reached adult hood.

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

Coming to college is hard. You have to keep your grades up through 13 years of public education. You also should obtain a car to get from point A to point B. This also requires having a job to keep the car fueled and money in your pocket to live off of. Motivation is also a tricky thing to pin down. It seems to appear when you don’t need it, and then just vanish when you need it the most. And organizational skills, what are those? These are some of the challenges I faced when deciding to go to college.

The droplets of rain emerge from the towering clouds as I step onto the vibrant green grass for the first time. I lock eyes with the monstrous building and tilt my head back until I have reached the roof. There I was. A stick-like, puny, first year college student looking at my home for the next four years. Yet I can't manage to take a second step. I stand there, staring at the giant brick block and lift my classic yellow rain jacket hood up over my impressively soft chocolate hair, protecting it from the harm of the rain. Four years of Ireland weather lays ahead of me. Four years of bunk beds in dorms. Four years of competing for the number one student. For years of awkward parties and tests. Four years until I'm out.

I’m a fighter. People tend to affiliate that with something negative but I think otherwise. I consider myself a fighter because I know the things that I have gone through and what I had to do to get past that. I can almost surely say that the majority of my classmates and people in general haven’t gone through half of the challenges that I have experienced. I’m not saying that I’m somehow better or superior but I do consider myself more mature, experienced, and responsible. I have repeatedly gotten a taste of what real life is and I know how hard it truly is but not even that has stopped me from wanting to pursue my dreams. As an immigrant who will be a first generation college student I have felt the stress and pressure not only from my parents

Throughout the rigorous society of college I’ve managed to grow and mature immensely. My first two years of college were less than perfect, but as the years went on I became better. College, like anything else in life is not easy—it is about hard work and life lessons. Sometimes, life lessons are slow in the teaching process—but you will always learn, no matter how long it takes. My grades throughout my time at New York Institute of Technology have grown like myself. I’ve transitioned from receiving horrific calculus grades to smile-worthy calculus grades—from Ds to taking both calculus 1 and 2 in the same semester, and receiving As. Additionally, I was lucky enough to take both biomedical research 1 and 2 at the same time. I was lucky enough

As a result of my parents emigrating from Vietnam to the United States, they were forced to start from scratch and build their ways up. Being a first generation college student, I also saw the struggles my parents had to endure in order to set me up for a better life. I was taught the importance of education and self-motivation in order to succeed in life. With this in mind I have set out to keep pushing myself to become a great engineer in order to provide a better life for my family and myself.

Coming into College prep writing on the first day of class and hearing Mrs.Carter say “this will be one of the hardest english classes you will take in high school,” definitely scared me. The first thoughts running through my mind was I’m not good enough for this class, there is no way it will ever pass. I wanted to drop out, but instead I decided to prove myself wrong and stay in the class. Staying in this class is one thing that I will never regret. There are so many hard things that you will come upon in life, that will end up becoming one of the best learning experiences.

I was born on August 12th in Olympia Fields, Illinois to a family who already knew my path before I did. This family that I was born into is one that most would consider a very intelligent family. They were no strangers to getting good grades and multiple degrees and knew that I would go on to do the same, if not more. Even though I was born to teenage parents, my dad worked his hardest to finish high school and work to provide for me and my older sister and it did not stop my mom to go on to obtain her master’s degree. When the question is asked, “Did you feel prepared for college?” The answer is yes. I felt like I was prepared for college since I am a 4th generation college student

I graduated June 2016 before I graduated I had no idea what college I wanted to go to. I was looking forwarding to go UAlbany University at first, my GPA met the standards of attending the school the only thing that kept me back from attending that school was that the fact I was hidden told my SAT's. My counselor explains to me that my SAT was important for me to have to apply to that school. I missed all the due date to take the test so my only option was to go to a community college I was devastated. My friends were talking about how they will be going to buff, Oswego, Miami, and etc I couldn't really relate.