Although it might be tough,
school is very scary.
No one wants to become an adult
It's a huge transition.
Just keep in mind that all this hard work will pay off.
Anything that's worth, isn't going to come easy.
You have to put in the time and effort, and
achieve everything that you want to accomplish.
My name is J and I'm First.
As a first-generation starting off in college, in a new state...
was pretty scary especially cause
I've never really been on my own.  My family's been a big part of my life.
There's, there's a lot of
pressure being the first generation
growing up, I'm the oldest, so
it was always kind of...you set the, you set the tone...you know
be an example.
There's a lot of pressure on me to succeed,
but at the same time I...I love it. I
love the...I love the pressure
I want to succeed, not only for me but
so I could, you know, just kind of clear a path for my family to do so as well.
Some of the obstacles I had was probably
just kind of being away from my family.
I'm Hispanic
We're very family-oriented.
Just being away from them
really took a toll on me at first. I was really
home sick, as I'm sure a lot of college students are.
But you know, through all the adversity there, my family's always there to help, so they've made it pretty easy.
As far as applying and doing all that stuff,
cause, I mean, my family never
had to go through anything like that.
My mom wasn't really educated on applying for FAFSA, applying for loans.
I actually had to research, go to clinics and all this stuff.
And her being not really educated,
put me at a disadvantage.
But you know she really tried, tried to learn so she try to educate herself into helping me.
Going to school, for me, has broaden your horizons
So coming here and just meeting, networking,
taking advantage of all the resources I have here
I definitely jumped on it right away.
I'm a social butterfly.  I get to know people.
You know college really isn't in the cards for most people where I'm from
They just kind of go into the workforce right away or do nothing.
So, I guess, my biggest accomplishment is being here
and just doing what I love to do
I actually want to go to Marquette Law.
I'm a political science student.
I'm a junior studying political science.
I want to helpfully go on to Marquette Law.
And hopefully become a lawyer.
Being, being a first generation isn't about you, it's about setting precedent for your family.
So always keep that in mind when you are doing anything that
Just like me, I've always had that mindset.
I'm the oldest, so I need to set that example for my younger siblings.
Like my little sister, she's my best friend.  I want her to be better than I am.
To me, I think she's smarter.  She's more smart than I am.
But she needs to be pushed, and you know, I always tell her, if I can do it, you can,
cause you're a better student than I am, you're more determined than I am.
So for me, it's just, you know, be an example, be a leader.
Although it might be tough, school is very scary.
No one wants to become an adult
It's a huge transition.
Just keep in mind that all this hard work will pay off.
Anything that's worth, isn't going to come easy.
You have to put in the time and effort, and
keep persevering and you will succeed, and
achieve everything that you want to accomplish.
