What is your hometown? Victorville, CA

What colleges did you attend? Degrees earned? Mt. San Antonio College; AA Math & Natural Science & AA Social & Behavioral Sciences
CSUF: BS Psychology
CSULB MS Counseling: Student Development in Higher Education
CSUF: EdD Educational Leadership

What motivated you to go to college? I knew getting an education would be my way out of poverty.

Describe your college experience as first-generation. Sometimes I was a good student and sometimes I wasn't. There were many things that I had to learn, like how to study, what I wanted to be, and how to manage school and other responsibilities. At Mt. SAC, I was a traditional student, and full-time employed student, a working parent, and now taking classes for personal enrichment.

What unique challenges did you face? I am not sure that my challenges were unique. When I started at Mt. SAC, I was commuting over an hour to come to school. I think I was overall very underprepared to do well in college classes. I was not very committed to school for the first several years. I stopped out many times.

How did you overcome those challenges? I think I overcame my challenges when I figured out what I wanted to do. I took a break for a few years and re-enrolled. After that I was unstoppable.

What did you advise other first-generation students? I recommend getting rid of the timelines you feel you must meet when you compare your education to others. Respect yourself, your family, your job, and your education. It is okay to go at the pace needed for you to be a good student/employee/son/daughter/friend/spouse/partner, etc.