Abstract: I am a First generation college student at Saint Mary’s college. Both my parents or siblings have not attended college and that automatically places me under my definition of a first generation college student. I have a lot of support from my family who has always placed my education as a priority in my life. I have also had support from Saint Mary’s college and from the High Potential program at SMC which I was accepted through to attend college. It has been a difficult journey getting to college starting with high school and struggling with many classes such as English. I was in a special class called AVID which is specifically designed to guide students to college so that helped me through the struggle of high school.
As I got to college it got even harder, first with being separated from my parents and simply the academic perspective of SMC. It was a complex time in which I had to set my own priorities and help myself for my future. I am now doing well in college and enjoy my education. I just hope that my future is as bright.
Keywords: first generation, Mexican American, family, academic struggles
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