Definition of First Generation Students: Of or relating to a person or persons whose parents are immigrants, first in family to attend or complete college in that given generation.
Breaking Barriers: ‘Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’
As she places her graduation cap upon her head, Amanda Poteet says she knows finishing college is more than her accomplishment but a milestone for her family.
Poteet is a graduating senior from Keller at the University of North Texas and is the youngest of her family.
Poteet said her upbringing had a lot to do with her aspirations to go to college.
“My mom was a stay at home mom, my father was a truck driver. My mom has a GED but my father dropped out of high school in the tenth grade,” Poteet said.
Today Jannell Robles also a first generation college student says she’s contemplating what her next big move will be since starting college.
“You know I could’ve never imagined I would be where I am today,” Robles said.
Robles recently began her senior year as an anthropology major at UNT.
“No one else in my family went college so this experience was tough,” Robles said, “But here I am today.”
Other students said going to a university was the next course in life regardless if they were first.
Sergio Guzman said college was a clear choice.
“It was near really a choice it was just always assumed I was going to go, not really by my parents but by me. Growing up in school there always like you graduate high school and you go to college, there’s not really a question about it. It was near really a question for me, it was more like where was I am I going to go, even though there wasn’t a push from my parents cause they weren’t really expecting that,” Guzman said.
Born and raised in Plano to immigrants parents from Mexico, Guzman said they’ve always been an inspiratino to him and helped him decide to major in international relations.
Currently first generation students are going to college in huge numbers. Patrick Vasquez of the UNT community outreach says its because there’s a lot still to be done.
“The gap is there and although we are doing everything possible at the university level, but the motivation starts at home,” Vasquez said.
Guzman said although the inspiration from his parents was not there, his grew very strong.
“The biggest transition was moving away from home and getting used to the food and living in the dorm and you know my parents didn’t really have a college fund for me,” Guzman said, “I’ll go home now and some of cousins in middle school and they’ll ask me about college–our generation is the first to branch out and be the first to go beyond high school, while our younger cousins, brothers and sisters are looking up to us now,” Guzman said.
Robles said in reference to going to college, the road doesn’t come easy.
“There are many times when you don’t know who to turn to but if you have the strength and the passion is alive you figure out, and you don’t give up,” Robles said.
Graduate Poteet said the same passion has carried her through college will get her through life.
“It was the flame in my belly that is getting me across this stage,” Poteet said.
Breaking Barriers
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