What is your hometown? Orange County
What colleges did you attend? Degrees earned? Golden West College- A.A
Fullerton College
Cal State Fullerton- BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN HUMAN SERVICES
What motivated you to go to college? My mother always encouraged my siblings and I to not just graduate high school but go to college and get a degree so that we would have better opportunities and wouldn't have to struggle the way she did growing up. Seeing my mother work 7 days a week, at times three jobs at a time was my motivation. I wanted to show her that all her hard work paid off, she deserved to see at least one of her kids walk across that stage.
Describe your college experience as first-generation. I was accepted to attend Cal State Long Beach right after high school but being first gen and having no guidance I ended up missing all the deadline and ended up attending Golden West College. It was a bit difficult in the beginning because I felt like I let my mom down for going to a community college instead of a four year school but it was actually the best decision I could have made. For 15 years of my life I said I would go to school to become a registered nurse and the firs year of college I failed most of my pre req courses and was put on academic probation, I had a meltdown because of the fact that I really disliked science,biology and all those courses that lead into nursing, growing up I did not see myself doing anything else but being a RN Nurse, in high school I always had to do extra credit to pass those classes. I thought my life was over and had failed my family and myself and wanted to drop out of school. My E.O.Ps counselor encouraged me to look into other majors maybe that specific career was not for me, and she was right but not having that guidance growing up, not being educated as to how it is normal for student to change their major at least once in college is something I had to learn on my own. I joined the E.O.Ps program, Puente and a few clubs, joined the soccer team and even worked at Sodexo. Being involved in college helped me meet other students who shared similar experiences as me and helped me realize that I was not alone.
What unique challenges did you face? As mentioned before, knowing the importance of deadlines was a challenge I missed the opportunity to go straight to a four year right after high school. Time management was a struggle at one point I was taking 14 units, in the soccer team and working two part-time jobs, I had to learn on my own that I was not able to handle all that in one term without my grades being affected. My first year in college I stressed out so much in realizing that I needed to change my major that I got really sick, I did not have that family support that I needed to tell it was going to be ok. Not knowing what student services was offered at GWC, I missed out on a few services that could have probably helped me.
How did you overcome those challenges? I met quite a few people in college that shared the same struggles and similar challenges as myself, we ended up becoming really close friends and we had each other for support. We reminded each other of important deadlines, we formed study groups and listened to each other vent. I somehow ended up being part of the E.O.Ps program and had a counselor that really helped me through a lot the time I was at GWC, I am very grateful to had had that program to really support me.
What did you advise other first-generation students? Get to know the college you plan on attending, do research, find out what student services the school offers. If you have a highly motivated friend attending the same college, partner up with them, if not make a new friend at school who is highly motivated. There will be times you might want to give up and you need friends who will encourage you to not give up. Find out information about financial aid and scholarships. Get an agenda write down all the important deadlines. Don't doubt yourself, you made it this far remember you are not alone, there are many first gen student with similar thoughts and struggles, you are not alone. Get involved on campus if you can, you'll meet people from different walks of life, yet you'll have many similarities and can potentially become each others support system. SI SE PUEDE!
