First-Gen Students

Being a first-generation college student: What no one tells you

jpow — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 14:14:40 +0000

Being a first-generation college student: What no one tells you jpow Mon, 04/10/2023 - 10:14

I have never felt like the term “first-generation student” could apply to me. I come from a family of six, with two older sisters who attended college and a mother with an associate’s degree. Thanks to them I’ve always been aware of the mechanics of college to some level. Each one walked me through some step in my journey, from applying to navigating my first semester to getting through finals week with my sanity intact. Their advice was invaluable during my first year or two, but none of them made it the full four years.

So far, I’m the only one to make it more than two years through college. It is here where my path diverges, away from my mom and my sisters, and where I have to venture out on my own to navigate the latter half of college. Each day, each week, and each semester, I learn something new about college life that I never would have thought of on my own.

On top of being a first-generation student, I am also a transfer student. I began college in 2020 at Henry Ford College (HFC) and transferred to UM-Dearborn in the Fall of 2022. In my experience, community college was like high school with a few extra steps. The goal was to finish your classes rather than to set up your future. I navigated the registration and transfer processes myself — it was easy enough to handle on my own. It wasn’t until my first semester at UM-Dearborn, where I heard my professors express the importance of internships and the inevitable reality of getting a job that I realized I was in desperate need of advice.

See, getting in is the easy part. You’re fresh out of high school, and you get to explore the things you're passionate about to see if they fit your desired career. But, I had no clue what I wanted to do. Fortunately, there are many useful resources, like the CASL Internship Office and the Office of Career Services, that have helped me better envision my future. In fact, taking a test offered through Career Services on recommendation from my advisor introduced me to the prospect of a career in communications and public relations.

It’s at UM-Dearborn that I have been able to fully explore my options as an English major, with minors and programs such as teaching, communications, or public relations. I had no idea that public relations was its own program until I spoke with my advisor. But this is when the idea of being a first-generation student makes more sense — I have no familial guidance through these last years of school. Nobody whose footsteps I’m following in. It’s up to me to navigate it alone, with the (much appreciated) help of my advisors and career planners, of course. I’ve always been stubborn and independent, but if my advisors are willing to guide me through my final years, I won’t complain.

The emotional rollercoaster no one talks about

I, like many first-generation students, am working to put myself through school. This means that my time and opportunities are limited. All I know is working to make a living. My parents had me get a job the second I quit my extracurriculars in high school, so I’ve been working since I was fifteen. The importance of a steady income has been drilled into my head repeatedly. I’m constantly juggling assignments on top of long shifts and home obligations. For a while, I often put my job over my classes, but my supervisor picked up on it and told me to rethink my priorities. Without him, I’d be much worse off. Regardless, my mental health took a sharp decline. I didn’t expect the lack of passion for my hobbies to impact my already struggling motivation to do well in my classes. I’ve always been an A student. I did my work well in high school, and a missing assignment caused me anxiety. But at some point between beginning my college journey and where I am now, I stopped caring. I started to watch my performance falter and my grades drop below what I initially expected of myself.

To deal with this, I had to sit down and try to remember what it is I want and why I want it. From a young age, I’ve been described as incredibly driven. The goals I set for myself are the driving factor that gets me through my life. But I’ll be honest, my life has been easy. Going through college has been the hardest thing I’ve ever decided to do. It pushes me to my limits and forces me to go against the grain. I doubt I’m alone in the fact that I sometimes wonder if the degree is worth it. If it’s worth the stress, confusion, panic, and debt. As I stare at countless papers and assignments piling up, papers I have little motivation to do, making a living as a salesperson or a receptionist sounds pretty darn nice. I think these are questions a lot of first-generation students ask themselves.

I’ve come too far, though. I’m over 70 credits into my degree program and I’ve put too many sleepless nights into my education. Despite the hardships setting me back, giving up will never be an option. I have big dreams for myself, and none of them include walking away from my degree. I want to publish books, become an editor for a large-scale company, and see my work in advertisements all over the country — maybe even the world. And it’s all possible with a degree from UM-Dearborn. My future is right there, just within reach, and it’s so tantalizing that I have to move forward. One painful step after another. Being a first-generation student can feel like a huge burden to carry, but nothing will feel better than walking across the stage to get the degree I’m working so hard for — it is the ultimate reward.

First-Gen Students

Student Stories

UM-Dearborn Experience

Mon, 04/10/2023 - 14:14

From not a lot of guidance to a sea of questions, it's not always easy being a first-generation college student. In this post, first-gen student Madelyn discusses her first few years navigating university, her experience transferring schools, discovering resources on campus, and finding the motivation to keep pursuing her goals.

UM-Dearborn Admissions Blog

My experience navigating college as a first-generation student

jpow — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:31:15 +0000

My experience navigating college as a first-generation student jpow Thu, 03/23/2023 - 10:31

Blog written by Jasmine Ramirez

Being the first in my family to graduate high school and receive a full scholarship to college was the most profound moment in my life. As a daughter of immigrant parents, who couldn’t finish their education, I knew that I had made them extremely proud. Through their eyes, they saw a brave and excited young woman ready to take on her next chapter in life. I was excited to step into college, but what my parents didn’t know was that fear, anxiety, and terror overshadowed my excitement.

Being a first-generation college student meant that I was stepping into a new chapter of life with no familial guidance. Although my parents have been — and always will be — my mentors, I knew that they couldn’t give me the best college advice. They would say things like “Just work hard and you’ll get through it,” or “Si se puede mija. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.” But who should I ask for help? Who is there to help and how do I find them? There was so much that I didn’t know that I began to question if I was ready for college.

With fear crawling into my mind, I was desperate to prepare myself for college. As I walked across the University Center on orientation day, I walked up to a table that said, “Student Service Support Program.” A woman was there to greet and inform them about the program and how they help first-year students settle into college. Happy to have found an organization that would benefit me, I signed up to attend their Summer Bridge Program. The Summer Bridge Program was a weeklong event that I attended before the Fall semester started. Throughout the event, other students and I were given tours of different buildings across campus. A wave of realization came over me as I walked around the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters. This is where I will begin my path to my future career. Classes will be harder, professors will be more strict, research papers will be longer and I will be dealing with them all by myself. However, we were given different presentations about the resources UM-Dearborn offered such as Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Writing Center, and the Kochoff Language Lab. Learning about these resources lifted a large amount of weight off my shoulder. Not only was I happy to start my first year at college, but I’d be attending a college that wants its students to succeed.

During my time at the Summer Bridge Program, I became close to many other first-gen students. All of whom were nervous as well. We shared many thoughts about the struggles of starting college and how we can overcome them. Hearing what many of them had to say I remembered that I am not the only one who is afraid of starting at a new school. From this, I learned that it’s okay to be scared of something new and that I can always find someone for help.

Although I was able to gain friends before the start of the school year, I was still apprehensive on my first day. I had no idea who my professors were and if I could handle college-level exams and assignments. Because I had done well in high school, I didn’t change the way I studied— which didn’t work out so well. I failed my first exam. With this, I knew I had to fix my time management, or else I would lose my scholarship. This meant breaking the bad habits that weighed me down. So, instead of doing everything last minute, I dedicated 30 minutes every day to drafting essays and studying for exams for each class. In addition, I set up appointments at the Writing Center and asked professors for help during office hours. After repeating this new strategy for a few weeks, my grades got progressively better.

As a first-generation student, I wanted to be surrounded by people who were in the same boat as me. Through Victorslink, I found a Greek organization that caught my eye. Alpha Psi Lambda is a co-ed fraternity that was based on Latino heritage. Coming from a Latino family, I was interested in joining the fraternity. During my membership process, I met more friends to who I could relate. The events that I and other members had, gave us the chance to create a strong bond. We all were able to relate with each other based on our cultural backgrounds. It is difficult to know where and how we all became extremely close because everything that we did as a group was full of love, acceptance, and understanding. Joining a fraternity/sorority was something that I thought I wouldn’t do in college, but I can say that it was the best decision of my life. I am proud to call everyone in Alpha Psi Lambda mis hermanos y hermanas.

My first semester as a first-gen college student was not perfect but it was the best experience. Walking into college and feeling scared is completely normal. It is what you do to overcome your fear that will benefit you throughout the rest of your college life.

First-Gen Students

Student Stories

UM-Dearborn Experience

Thu, 03/23/2023 - 14:31

Navigating college can be difficult for any student, and for many UM-Dearborn students, they are the first in their family to do so. In this post, first-generation college student Jasmine Ramirez shares her own experience navigating her first year at a university, the resources that helped her, and the lessons she learned along the way.

UM-Dearborn Admissions Blog