Abstract: William "Bill" Nownes grew up in the suburbs of Van Nuys, California. Neither of Bill's parents completed college but both had taken some classes from community colleges. Because of this Bill is classified at a first-generation college student.
His father worked for Warner Brothers Studio and his mom was a vocational nurse. Bill has three older brothers, two of which graduated from college with degrees. Although never stated by his parents, Bill knew that he was going to attend college, but with little help from his school counselor he had to do all of the research for schools on his own. He wanted to go to a Catholic school in Northern California, and without ever seeing the campus he decided to go to Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California.
At SMC he experienced many new things and enjoyed some exciting adventures both on and off campus. He was very involved with athletics and participated in both crew and volleyball while at SMC. Northern California was new to him so he spent many weekends exploring parks, museums and more. He ended up graduating from SMC with a BA in English and then stayed a fifth year in order to get his early childhood teaching credential.
He started off his teaching career at Mulberry Tree Preschool in Moraga and then got a job in Oakland Unified School District. Bill has now worked in OUSD for 27 years at various different jobs, but he is currently the Administrator of Private Schools Program. While at SMC he met his wife of 23 years, and they now have two daughters.
Keywords: First-generation, Saint Mary’s College, major, teaching, vocational nurse
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