What is your hometown? Rowland Heights, CA
What colleges did you attend? Degrees earned? UC Davis 2003-2005: Dismissed
Mt. San Antonio College 2007-2011: Transferred
Cal Poly Pomona 2011-2013: Spanish, B.A.
Cal Poly Pomona 2014-2016: English, M.A.
What motivated you to go to college? From an early age, my parents made it clear that education was our goal. Of course, I liked school and I wanted to make my relentless and hardworking parents proud. My love for learning didn't automatically translate into college degrees, but after working for more than five years in different industries, I came back to academia to finish what I started. My B.A. is worth 10 years of ups and downs.
Describe your college experience as first-generation. My parents didn't know anything about college, and I was afraid my questions would make me appear "stupid" among my college-ready friends. The application process itself was challenging. When I arrived at UC Davis, the freedom was intoxicating, exciting, and intimidating. My classes were large, the expectations were high, and I found my tribe with a group called Mujeres Ayudando la Raza. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to handle being in a new environment with new types of people, and within 18 months, I was dismissed. I felt that I let down "la Raza", my parents, and I was in and out of community college for 5 years.
What unique challenges did you face? Depression took me in an unplanned direction. I had lived with depression without knowing it for 6 years, and continue to manage it today. After years of wanting to end my life, getting kicked out college (and realizing I was sick), sleeping in my car, and eluding my family, I made a decision to go back to school. Dealing with mental health issues on top of the pressure of being a first-generation college student complicated and prolonged my journey.
How did you overcome those challenges? I had to accept that I needed help. I had to accept that I needed to seek people and ask questions. I had to accept that I needed to listen. I had to accept that I wanted more out of life than what I had at the age of 25. I had to accept that it's never too late and while financial security is a top 3 influencing factor, my love of learning trumps all else. After I made the decision to go back to school, I devoured all of my readings, took advantage of academic support services, office hours, clubs, Student Life certificates, and mentors. For my mental health, I committed to therapy and medication to help me. It’s difficult to express how hard I’ve worked at positive self-talk and re-framing my mindset, but also how much support I’ve received along the way to get here. But I had to ask for this help first.
What did you advise other first-generation students? It's important to find your tribe off- and on-campus by seeking support from family, friends, and/or significant others, joining student orgs, finding study spaces at our many academic support centers, going to office hours to find which professors you vibe with, AND setting goals. Do you want to transfer in two years? Three? Whatever your goal may be, right it down and develop a plan. The plan can be amended along the way (because life!) because you have the power.
