I was a first-generation college student

May is a month of memories for me. It marks the end of another academic year of teaching. (My 15th at Online G3!) Then there’s Mother’s Day, which brings lots of conflicting emotions for those of us with complicated families. Finally, May is my birthday month, and this year, I turned the same age as my father was when he passed away. That’s a weird feeling—a combination of “I made it!” and “How much time do I have left?” I guess you could say that this May has made me reflect :-)

Anyone who has met me knows that I am obsessed with education. I really do believe that a strong educational foundation is the ticket to a better life. It certainly was for me. My parents were high school graduates with traditional working-class jobs. My dad was a truck driver who later became a car salesman, and my mom was a secretary turned stay-at-home mom. My grandparents only got through 8th grade before going into the workforce. There was never any expectation that I would attend college. When I expressed interest in pursuing education beyond 12th grade, my parents assumed I would go to the local community college for an associate degree or perhaps a trade certificate.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE our community colleges. I sent my daughter to one! But in my parents’ eyes, it was an end, not a beginning. This was not a choice among many; it was the only option available to me.

I didn’t question this pathway until my high school counselor intervened. He directed me to a summer program that allowed me to take classes at our state’s flagship university. I loved it there, so I started visiting my high school’s college and career center to learn more about applying to 4-year universities. I met a friend who was one year ahead of me in school, and he became my role model and mentor. Carl ultimately enrolled at that state flagship, and I decided that’s where I wanted to be, too.

So, I applied to that one university and no other. I didn’t realize that students were supposed to apply to multiple schools, and I didn’t know that the state flagship was a “reach” school. Luckily, I got in and followed my mentor through course registration and major selection. Carl is the number one reason I was able to get through college and continue to graduate school. Large public universities aren’t exactly known for their hand-holding and guidance, you know. So thank goodness for Carl!

I guess it’s not surprising, then, that I ended up building a career in education and college guidance. I want to help today’s students achieve what I stumbled into by accident. Luck shouldn’t define a student’s future opportunities. (Neither should legacy, but that’s a story for another day. Lol)