[quiet music playing]
Marissa: You're nervous for college.
Diana:  I was also
really afraid that I was gonna fail in the long run.
Kesline: I'll give you this much; I'll
give you that much. Loans. Subsidized. Unsubsidized.
Noah: Coming into college and
admitting that you don't really know how
to do college can seem embarrassing, but
really, nobody knows how to do college.
[quiet, serious music playing]
Noah: Being a first-generation student, a lot
of it had been driven by myself because
my parents never went through that
process, and so I had to figure out what
I was looking for personally in a school
which I've never thought about before.
And so that part was difficult because,
since I had no frame of reference, I
really didn't know what I wanted to look
for in a school.
Marissa: I loved school. I've always loved school, and I was very driven in high school, too, but for some
reason, I just never actually thought I
could do it because I couldn't
see it. It didn't feel tangible and when I was
able to get scholarship I was like, "I'm
actually going to college." I can do this.
people believed in me.
Kesline: I had to figure out financial aid for, for the schools; I had to figure out how much my mother
made. I had to figure out what kind of
school I wanted to go to, where I'd fit
in, and it was hard, because at that point,
being a senior in high school, I barely
know who I am. I didn't really know what to
expect in college.
Diana: Given that no one in my family has done it and just not being able to have that advice because they
didn't go through that, I was really
afraid that I was gonna let them down.
Chris: First-generation college students are
immensely talented and yet nationwide we
know first gen students can struggle to
adapt to the college environment. At Hope
College we have found that the problem
is not with the student, but instead the
environment that they're jumping into.
We're also learning that it's not safe
to assume all the things the first gens
know. We've assembled a team of faculty and
staff members to address some of these
issues of equity to create a first
generation student union that can create an
environment where first gen students can
thrive just like their non-first-gen
peers.
[music playing]
Kesline: Because I'm Haitian and I wasn't born
here, I came here at a very young age.
Education was pushed in my household so
right after high school I knew that I
had to go to college and I felt that
that's the reason why I take education
so seriously, because I understand that,
like, my mom came to America so that I
could be who I want to be, and so that I
can be someone that my family back in
Haiti and my family back at home can
look up to.
Diana: We're also paving the way for our
families, for our friends, and I think
that's one of the greatest advantages
that we have because we get to speak
into them, and if someone wants to follow
our path, we can definitely guide them
and mentor them, or just give them words
of advice that it's gonna be necessary to them.
Noah: My next brother just started college this year
and I have two in high school that are
looking at college, and I think for me,
setting that path that college is an
attainable thing in our family is a big
thing for me. And the times they've been
here they've really got to see what
college is like and that it's an
attainable possibility for them since
I'm here. And so that's been, that's been
cool to see.
[music playing]
We know that nationally and at Hope the number of first gen students is only going to continue to rise.
By creating a first gen student union, this
is our opportunity to be innovative with
education and to be inclusive of the way
we're creating environments to help all
students succeed.
[music playing]
Marissa:  I understood that my
education could completely change my
life; that it opens so many doors, and I
think that some students just go to
college as the next stepping stone in their
life. They don't really think about what
does this really mean and how can this
change my life. And I understood that
because neither my parents had the
opportunity to get a degree.
Noah: I think being a first-generation student has taught me to always keep working hard no
matter if you really want to or not. Like,
I work two jobs now and I have two
majors and balancing that can be a
really tricky task, but for me,
I think it's really built me into
somebody that can be resilient and just
kind of growing into being of a fully of
independent adult.
Kesline: Just because I'm a first-generation student doesn't mean that I'm any less knowledgeable as the
other person. Just because I have my
worries and my doubts and my
uncertainties doesn't mean that when I
when I do know the information, it's...the
world is my oyster. The only thing that
it's blocking me from walking on that
other side of the mountain is the fact
that I don't know, but when I do know,
There's nothing that I can't do.
Diana: Don't ever forget that you are a trailblazer because you're setting the path and you're changing. You're changing
the direction of where you want to go.
You're taking the initiative of...of deciding
what it is that you want to do and not
leaving that for others to do that for you.
[music plays]
