Being a first-generation college student: What no one tells you
April 10, 2023
Blog written by Madelyn Gatteri
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.